Electron acceleration in localized plasma waves

Particle acceleration in a localized electrostatic wave packet is studied. A weak field regime and a strong field regime are displayed. In the weak field limit a quasilinear relation for the velocity perturbation is derived. When the particles cross the accelerating field several times, a quasilinear equation for the distribution function is established. The theory is illustrated by numerical results from a model of resonance absorption of laser light by a plasma. Finally a model of electron reheating in resonance absorption including collisions is presented, leading to a nearly Maxwellian behavior for the hot component of the electron distribution function, f-exp-(v/v0)/sup 8/3/