Plasma Heating by a Rotating Relativistic Electron Beam

A rotating relativistic beam of energy 500 keV and current 20-40 kA is injected into a preformed plasma of density $n_p$ between ${10}^{12}$ and ${10}^{14}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{-3\mathrm{}}$. It is observed that optimum coupling of beam energy to the plasma occurs at $n_p\gg n_b$, where $n_b$ is the beam density. The peak plasma temperature is about 1 keV. The heated plasma undergoes radial oscillations characteristic of the magnetosonic mode. The results are interpreted with a new theoretical model.