X-ray measurements of electron temperatures in CO2-laser-heated magnetoplasmas

Abstract
Electron temperatures of CO2‐laser‐heated magnetoplasmas were found from differential measurements of soft x‐ray continuum through gaseous absorbers. We observed in argon and helium‐argon plasmas that Te increases with longitudinal magnetic field and is a strongly peaked function of the pressure of the target gas. Plasma dynamics are strongly influenced by the presence of at least eight‐times‐ionized argon.