Abstract
Laboratory observations of enhanced loss of fast electrons trapped in a magnetic mirror geometry irradiated by shear Alfvén waves (SAW) are reported. A population of runaway electrons generated by second harmonic electron-cyclotron-resonance heating, as evidenced by the production of hard x rays with energy up to 3 MeV, is subjected to SAW launched with a rotating magnetic field antenna. It is observed that the SAW dramatically affect the trapped fast electrons and scatter them out of the magnetic mirror despite any obvious resonance. The results could have implications on the techniques of artificial reduction of energetic electrons in the inner radiation belt.
- Received 19 October 2011
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.105002
© 2012 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Electron Bounce
Published 8 March 2012
Experiments show that magnetic waves in a plasma may be effective at controlling energetic electrons.
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