Suppression of low frequency plasma instabilities in a magnetized plasma column

This paper reports on a new experimental observation of the suppression of both naturally occurring and driven oscillations in a magnetized, linear plasma column. Detailed measurements are made of the potential structure, density profiles, and wave propagation using Langmuir and emissive probes. These measurements indicate that the decrease in the level of plasma oscillations (by factors of 10 or greater) is related to the direction of the radial electric field, but may also be connected to a combination of transverse and parallel flows in the plasma.