Plasma effects in a free electron laser

The introduction of a plasma and a strong guide magnetic field in a free electron laser (FEL) slows down the phase velocity of radiation, significantly reducing the requirements on beam energy for generating frequencies below the electron-cyclotron frequency (ω₁≲ω_c). Around plasma resonance (ω₁~ω_p), the FEL mode couples to two-stream instability (TSI), attaining a large growth rate, comparable to that of the wiggler-free TSI. At plasma densities comparable to beam density, the beam-induced local depression in the electron density of the plasma acts as a waveguide for guiding any high-frequency radiation when the beam current is ≳17 kA