A 2D simulation study of Langmuir, whistler, and cyclotron maser instabilities induced by an electron ring-beam distribution

Electrostatic and whistler instabilities excited by an electron beam

The electron beam-plasma system is ubiquitous in the space plasma environment. Here, using a Darwin particle-in-cell method, the excitation of electrostatic and whistler instabilities by a gyrating electron beam is studied in support of recent laboratory experiments. It is assumed that the total plasma frequency (xpe) is larger than the electron cyclotron frequency (Xe). The fast-growing electr...

The electron cyclotron maser

The electron cyclotron maser (ECM) is based on a stimulated cyclotron emission process involving energetic electrons in gyrational motion. It constitutes a cornerstone of relativistic electronics, a discipline that has emerged from our understanding and utilization of relativistic effects for the generation of coherent radiation from free electrons. Over a span of four decades, the ECM has unde...

Linear Theory of an Electron Cyclotron Maser

The linear theory of an electron cyclotron maser (ECM) operating at the fundamental is developed. A set of analytic expressions, valid for all TE cavity modes, is derived for the starting current and frequency detuning using the Vlasov-Maxwell equations in the weakly relativistic limit. These results are applicable for an arbitrary electron velocity distribution as well as any longitudinal dist...

Electron-Cyclotron-Maser Observable Modes

We investigated wave amplification through the Electron-Cyclotron-Masermechanism. We calculated absorption and emission coefficients without any approximations, also taking into account absorption by the ambient thermal plasma. A power-law energy distribution for the fast electrons was used, as is indicated by X-ray and microwave observations. We developed a model for the saturation length and ...

Small-signal analysis of the induced-resonance electron-cyclotron maser.