SHAPE-PARAMETERS FOR THE THOMSON ELECTRON FEATURE AS A MEANS OF INTERPRETING LASER SCATTERING DATA

A novel technique for processing line-shape data for the Thomson elect ron feature is described. It involves 'fitting' the Thomson model to l ine-shape data by simply measuring essential characteristics of the li ne shape, referred to as shape parameters, instead of fitting by itera tion and adjustment of the implicit variables, the electron temperatur e, T, and number density, N. One shape parameter is the ratio of the h eight of each satellite peak to that of the valley, a ratio that is un iquely related to N/T; the other is the wavelength shift of each peak from the central wavelength.