Annihilation localization in gas-core and plasma-core annihilation rocket engines

Abstract

Antimatter annihilation is the most energetic known form of on-board spacecraft propulsion. It is capable of achieving interstellar travel at near-light speeds. More experimental and theoretical work must be done to show that this form of propulsion is feasible and practical for the near future. For efficient gas-core and plasma-core annihilation engines it is necessary that antiprotons be injected into the engines at energies which place the annihilation region at the center of the engine and that the size of the annihilation region be small compared to the engine size. Sufficient information exists to estimate required injection energies and the annihilation distribution when the annihilation medium/propellant is hydrogen. The estimates show that currently envisioned gas- and plasma-core engines require achievable antiproton injection energies and have sufficiently small annihilation regions.