A second kind of Beam-Plasma Discharge (BPD): Rocket and laboratory results
It is shown that there are two types of beam plasma discharge observed in rocket shots. The second BPD transition (BPD2) is characterized by a very broad featureless emission extending from much less than the cyclotron frequency to several times the plasma frequency. The characteristic spectra observed close to the beam plasma discharge region are deformed by the intervening plasma when observations are made at a distance from the injection field line and lead to spectra which must be interpreted with care. In one case, the Bernstein mode at 2 fce seems to be a remnant of the broad, featureless spectrum of BPD2.