NONLINEAR PROPERTIES OF A WEAKLY COLLISIONAL PLASMA AT LOW RADIATION INTENSITIES

In this paper we evaluate theoretically the modification of the distri bution function of slow subthermal electrons heated by radiation in a completely ionized plasma. The new solution we have found to the kinet ic equation under conditions typical of weak-collisional plasmas can b e used to predict new nonlinear behavior arising from perturbations of the nonuniform electron density and the coefficient of nonlocal heat transfer that depend on the intensity of the radiation heating the pla sma, which is absorbed via inverse bremsstrahlung. It is predicted tha t this new nonlinear behavior manifests itself at unexpectedly small r adiation intensities. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.