Cooperative Oscillations in a High-Temperature Plasma Formed by Neutral Atom Injection

Abstract

New modes of stable oscillation observed in a low density (about 10/sup 8/ ions/cm/sup 3/) plasma formed by neutral atom injection into the magnetic mirror machine ALICE are reported. The oscillation frequencies range from 5 to 50 kc/sec; and two branches (one close to the calculated precession frequency of 20-kev ions and independent of plasma density, the other varying roughly linearly with plasma density) are noted. The observed modes agree tentatively with predictions of an extension of the theory of finite-orbit stabilization for low- density plasmas. (D.C.W.)