- Gross, M;
- Engel, J;
- Good, J;
- Huck, H;
- Isaev, I;
- Koss, G;
- Krasilnikov, M;
- Lishilin, O;
- Loisch, G;
- Renier, Y;
- Rublack, T;
- Stephan, F;
- Brinkmann, R;
- de la Ossa, A Martinez;
- Osterhoff, J;
- Malyutin, D;
- Richter, D;
- Mehrling, T;
- Khojoyan, M;
- Schroeder, CB;
- Grüner, F
Self-modulation of an electron beam in a plasma has been observed. The propagation of a long (several plasma wavelengths) electron bunch in an overdense plasma resulted in the production of multiple bunches via the self-modulation instability. Using a combination of a radio-frequency deflector and a dipole spectrometer, the time and energy structure of the self-modulated beam was measured. The longitudinal phase space measurement showed the modulation of a long electron bunch into three bunches with an approximately 200 keV/c amplitude momentum modulation. Demonstrating this effect is a breakthrough for proton-driven plasma accelerator schemes aiming to utilize the same physical effect.