Observation of an induced-scattering instability driven by static field asymmetries in a pure electron plasma

Abstract
We show experimentally that the presence of static field asymmetries can affect the stability of a confined pure electron plasma. A new induced-scattering instability is observed whose threshold and growth rate depend on the amplitude of static field asymmetries. The presence of the instability is associated with a twelvefold enhancement of radial plasma transport. The qualitative features of this instability are found to be in agreement with recent theoretical work.