Laboratory realization of an Alfvén wave maser

Phys Rev Lett. 2003 Jul 18;91(3):035004. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.035004. Epub 2003 Jul 18.

Abstract

It is demonstrated that a frequency selective Alfvén-wave resonator can be realized by applying a nonuniform magnetic field to a plasma region bounded between a cathode and a semitransparent mesh anode. When a current threshold is exceeded, selective amplification results in a highly coherent, large amplitude wave that propagates into an adjacent plasma column.