Ion Heating by Expansion of Beam-Heated Plasma

Abstract

A column of plasma whose electrons are rapidly heated by an electron beam or laser will expand against the external magnetic field, setting up large-amplitude magnetosonic oscillations. We study the dissipation of these oscillations by anomalous resistance, ion Landau damping, and ion counterstreaming, and show that much of the initial $T_e$ can be converted into $T_i$.