Experimental studies of the propagation of electrostatic ion perturbationsby time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence

Effects induced by the propagation of several kinds of electrostatic pertur bation in a low-density collisionless argon plasma are observed with space, time, and velocity-resolved laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The propagat ion of strong self-organized ion structures is observed and the associated electric field is determined. Snap shots of the ion phase space with a time resolution of 2 mus can be reconstructed from the experimental data. All t he terms of the kinetic equation can also be determined from the data. A on e-dimensional (1D) numerical simulation reproduces qualitatively the experi mentally observed ion phase space behavior. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.