A new approach to linear Landau damping

We present a new description of linear Landau damping of plasma waves. The process is found to be governed by a set of two equations with an energy conservation law that is different from the standard form. An analytical solution containing an explicit expression for the velocity distribution function is given. The effect of different initial conditions is demonstrated numerically. We argue that our new approach has several advantages as compared with the standard presentations of introductory plasma textbooks. (C) 1997 American Association of Physics Teachers.