Investigation of the nonlinear behavior of a weakly-ionized plasma

The nonlinear behavior of plasmas has been studied by conventional time series methods for many years. Since the advent of the concept of chaotic dynamics in the early 1960's, many new theoretical approaches to turbulence have been developed. In the past ten years these methods have been applied to plasma fluctuations. In the last two or three years, commercial computer software has become available which allows the ready application of a wide range of analytical methods from nonlinear dynamics to laboratory plasmas. Most applications thus far have been to pulsed or unmagnetized plasmas. This report will describe the application of chaos theory to a steady-state, magnetized plasma.