On the containment of plasma in stationary magnetic and high-frequency fields I

The stationary state of a collisionless plasma in a magnetic mirror is analyzed provided that a strong h.f. field is present. The h.f. field frequency is somewhat higher than the electron cyclotron frequency. The pressure acting on the plasma and the height of the h.f. potential barrier are derived in particular. The h.f. potential yields the possibility of eliminating the loss cone in the velocities distribution. The upper limits, which the electron temperature must not exceed, are derived. If an appropriate stationary magnetic field is used, the required incident wave power can be diminished and the allowable electron temperature can be increased. Some new results concerning the case of a homogeneous magnetic field are presented.