Trajectory crossing in low density plasmas due to interaction with a long ultrarelativistic beam of charged particles

Breaking of a plasma wave driven by a long beam of charged particles results in electron jets escaping from the plasma column and forming an electron halo. For plasma densities less than or of the order of the beam density, this process is well described by a semi-analytical model, which agrees with simulations and allows to calculate the position of wavebreaking points and determine the regions around the plasma column occupied by the halo.