2024/09/17 by Adrianne Zhong, Zhong, Adrianne, J. Fajans +3 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Molecular Physics #Data Analysis #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) #Magnetic confinement fusion research #Plasma Diagnostics and Applications #Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph) #Statistics and Probability (physics.data-an)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2409.11610
openalex publication_date 2024/09/17 · openalex created_date 2024/10/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We develop a new algorithm to estimate the temperature of a nonneutral plasma in a Penning-Malmberg trap. The algorithm analyzes data obtained by slowly lowering a voltage that confines one end of the plasma and collecting escaping charges, and is a maximum likelihood estimator based on a physically-motivated model of the escape protocol presented in Beck [1990]. Significantly, our algorithm may be used on single-count data, allowing for improved fits with low numbers of escaping electrons. This is important for low-temperature plasmas such as those used in antihydrogen trapping. We perform a Monte Carlo simulation of our algorithm, and assess its robustness to intrinsic shot noise and external noise. Approximately 100 particle counts are needed for an accuracy of +/-10% -- this provides a lower bound for measurable plasma temperatures of approximately 3 K for plasmas of length 1 cm.