Laser heating of a magnetically confined plasma

The problem of laser heating of a plasma is considered in the low β limit. Spatial and temporal variations of electron as well as ion temperatures are calculated, and the shape of the laser pulse is varied to find an optimal ion heating condition. The propagation of the ’’bleaching wave’’ into the plasma column is also investigated. By an iterative approximation analytic expressions are obtained for quantities such as particle temperatures, hole burning velocity, penetration depth, and the equilibration time of electron and ion temperatures after the laser is tuned off. They can be used to find various restricted optimization conditions.