Damping of Plasma Column Resonances by Electron Density Fluctuations

Abstract

Random fluctuations of the electron density can considerably influence the shape of the resonance curve exhibited by a plasma column. The fluctuations affect the resonances in a different way, depending on the order of the resonance considered. For the main resonance both the amplitude and the half-width change appreciably; however, the resonance amplitude is more sensitive to low level density fluctuations than the half-width. The first Tonks–Dattner resonance half-width remains practically constant, but the resonance amplitude decreases with increase in the level of density fluctuations. The main resonance interaction with the density fluctuations is also computed theoretically for a plasma column inserted in a wave guide, excited in the TE10 mode, assuming that the plasma behaves as a dielectric medium. The results are in good agreement with the experiment.