Plasma Acceleration in a Radio-Frequency Field Gradient

Abstract

Experiments have been performed at 140 Mc to determine the acceleration of a mercury plasma in an rf field gradient. With a maximum rf field amplitude of 170 v/cm, a tenuous plasma (of density less than a critical density) was accelerated from 5 × 10⁵ to 25 × 10⁵ cm/sec. A denser plasma (of density greater than the critical density) was decelerated in the same field. These experimental results are consistent with a theory based on energy considerations.