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A New Method for the Determination of Plasma Electron Temperature and Density from Thomson Scattering of an Optical Maser Beam

Abstract

THE Thomson scattering of light by free electrons has not yet been observed in a laboratory plasma—the cross-section for the process is small and until recently no suitable source of light has been available. The advent of a very bright monochromatic light source in the form of the optical maser has markedly changed the situation, however, and in this communication a method is proposed for measuring the temperature and the relative density of electrons in a plasma from the Doppler broadening and the intensity of light scattered from an optical maser beam.

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References

  1. Collins, R. J., and Nelson, D. F., paper presented at a Conference on Optical Instruments and Techniques, London, July 1961.

  2. See Chandrasekhar, S., Radiative Transfer, Chap. 12 (Oxford Univ. Press, 1950).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. Maiman, T. H., Phys. Rev., 123, 1145 (1961).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

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HUGHES, T. A New Method for the Determination of Plasma Electron Temperature and Density from Thomson Scattering of an Optical Maser Beam. Nature 194, 268–269 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/194268b0

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