Resonant particle heating of an electron plasma by oscillating sheaths

The first unambiguous measurements of a bounce-resonance effect in a non-neutral plasma are presented. Two striking signatures are observed when a magnetized electron column is heated by oscillating an end sheath. First, the heating rate increases by a factor of 10(4) as the oscillation frequency is increased by a factor of 10 near the thermal electron bounce frequency. Second, the heating is enhanced when the sheaths at both ends are oscillated out of phase, but is suppressed when they are in phase. The measured rates are in quantitative agreement with a resonant particle heating theory.