Temporal evolution of ion temperatures in the presence of ion cyclotron instabilities

Abstract

Spectroscopic techniques to determine the temporal evolution of the ion temperature in a collisionless barium plasma are presented. The theory of temperature relaxation in plasmas with external magnetic field is modified to include wave-induced collisions. Experiment and theory are compared. The current-driven electrostatic ion cyclotron instability is shown to be an effective method for wave heating of ions.