The University of Maryland electron ring: a platform for study of galactic dynamics on a laboratory scale

The University of Maryland electron ring (UMER) is a novel experimental storage ring designed to investigate the dynamics of large systems of collisionless particles that nevertheless interact via collective mechanisms. Heavily diagnosed and designed to circulate a 100 mA electron beam at 10 keV for several turns, UMER allows us to follow the evolution of the beam over a large number of dynamical periods. Given the similarity of dynamics between the Coulomb forces and gravitational forces, it is possible to design beam experiments that will simulate such astrophysical events as galactic merger, for instance. The cross-comparison of beam experiments with accelerator simulation codes provides invaluable benchmarks of transient processes akin to, for example, violent relaxation in stellar systems that are otherwise impossible to obtain.