Rotational equilibria and low-order modes of a non-neutral ion plasma

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Abstract
We study rotational equilibria and low-order electrostatic modes of a magnetically confined, non-neutral ion plasma. The plasma rotation rate is controlled with radiation pressure from a laser beam and is continuously varied over the entire allowed range, including Brillouin flow. Excitation of an asymmetric plasma mode by a static field asymmetry is observed. The symmetric quadrupole mode is also studied; its behavior is characteristic of a strongly magnetized plasma at low density, and of an unmagnetized plasma at Brillouin flow.