Ion Heating by Expansion of Beam-Heated Plasma

A column of plasma whose electrons are rapidly heated by an electron beam or laser will expand against the external magnetic field, setting up large-amplitude magnetosonic oscillations. We study the dissipation of these oscillations by anomalous resistance, ion Landau damping, and ion counterstreaming, and show that much of the initial Tₑ can be converted into Tᵢ.