Electron cooling of energetic protons in a multiring trap was investigated experimentally with a tank circuit monitoring electron-plasma oscillations in the trap. The energy of protons was determined by time-of-flight measurements. It is found that a simple model can explain the qualitative behavior of both electron and proton energy when the initial energy of protons is less than 2 keV. Monitoring the electron-plasma temperature with a tank circuit can be an effective tool when energetic particles are electron cooled in a multiring trap.

• Received 29 October 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.65.046410