High-Frequency Velocity Space Instabilities

Abstract

The electrostatic dispersion relation is examined for high‐frequency instabilities in a collisionless, infinite, magneto‐active plasma with electrons having non‐Maxwellian velocity distributions. Growing waves are found, and the complex frequency solutions are calculated. The variation of wave growth with electron density, angle of propagation, and frequency is calculated for several distributions of electron velocity. Calculations of the spectrum when the electrons have an axial velocity spread are included.