THOMSON SCATTERING COMPUTATIONS FOR LABORATORY PLASMAS,
Abstract
The note presents some calculations of the spectrum of Thompson scattering of a laser beam from typical laboratory plasmas. These calculations are numerical results based on theoretical work by Salpeter. The results show that the character of the spectrum depends upon the ratio of the length in the plasma over which the scattered spectrum adds coherently to the Debye length alpha. For small alpha, i.e. alpha < 0.1, the spectrum is simply an electron Doppler broadened spectrum. For medium alpha (0.1 < alpha < 1 ), the spectrum shows Doppler broadening due to both the ions and electrons, and for large alpha ( 1 < or = alpha) there are peaks in the scattered spectrum displaced from the primary laser frequency by an amount approximately equal to the plasma frequency. These three regions are graphically displayed along with a universal numerical scattering calculation for a hydrogen plasma with equal ion and electron temperatures. Further, some typical cases are calculated for hydrogen plasmas showing the character of all three regions of alpha and the effect of changing scattering angle. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0603950
Entities
People
- Edward T. Gerry
- Richard M. Patrick