An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The process wherein a → plasma gains energy at the expense of the → Langmuir wave. In the presence of the → Landau resonance, the particles in resonance moving slightly faster than the wave lose energy, while those moving slightly slower will gain energy. Since the Maxwellian distribution is decreasing with velocity, in a Maxwellian plasma, near the Landau resonance, there are more particles at lower velocities than at higher velocities. Also called collisionless damping.

See also: Lev Landau (1908-1968), a prominent Soviet physicist, 1962 Nobel Prize in Physics for his development of a mathematical theory of → superfluidity; → damping.