Enhanced Thomson scattering theory applied to eight experiments

The onset of an instability, such as the 2ω/sub p/ at the n/sub c//4 surface, usually leads to wave breaking and the emission of hot electron pulses which can profoundly influence instability thresholds and scattering behavior elsewhere in the plasma. In particular, enhanced Thomson scattering (via the plasma line) can occur, and this has been used to explain the observation of the SRS instability well below the theoretical threshold. A simple model of the hot electron pulses based on measured values of the hot and cold electron temperatures, T/sub h/ and T/sub c/, has yielded good agreement with experimental observation of the Raman spectral frequency bands. The agreement has continued, even for experiments which are clearly above the SRS threshold, with the enhanced noise likely acting as a ''seed'' for the SRS growth. We will show details of the successful comparison of this theory with six experiments carried out on SHIVA, ARGUS, NOVETTE(2), and GDL(2), and also with an upscattering feature seen at Garching. In addition, a recent experiment using 6 beams of OMEGA (at 0.35μ) will be discussed, and compared with the theory. The report is comprised of viewgraphs of the talks