Plasma-Return-Current Heating by Relativistic Electron Beams withνγ10

Abstract
We report experimental results of hydrogen-plasma heating using very intense relativistic electron beams with νγ up to 10. The beam-plasma interaction process is found to be plasma-return-current heating with strongly anomalous plasma resistivity. Peak plasma energy is 1.5×1019 eV/cm3, corresponding to Te=2.2 keV at ne=6.7×1015 cm3.