Propagation of Ion-Acoustic Waves in a Two-Electron-Temperature Plasma

Abstract

The propagation of ion-acoustic waves (IAW) in a double-electron-temperature plasma is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. It is found that the presence of even a small fraction of the lower-electron-temperature component can dominate the behavior of the waves. The results have important implications both for the use of IAW as a diagnostic tool for measuring electron temperature and for the interpretation of turbulent IAW spectra.