COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGING FOR SPACE PLASMA PHYSICS

We have considered the measurement of plasma electron velocity distribution functions as a problem in imaging and image reconstruction. We present a model instrument that measures the integral of the distribution function along lines in velocity space. This allows us to use the powerful mathematical and numerical methods that have recently been so successful in other areas of imaging. We find that this approach leads to classes of instruments that are qualitatively different from contemporary designs. An investigation of different methods of reconstruction of the distribution function from integral measurements reveals that the mathematical tools appropriate to one particular imaging problem may be very different from those required to deal with another.