= Velocity plateau
An interval of particle <velocities> on which an equilibrium <phase-space distribution function> is constant. Its zero derivative removes the resonant imaginary part of the linear <dielectric function> for waves with <phase velocity> inside the interval. This permits a completely undamped <electron acoustic wave> in suitable single-population, nonthermal electron distributions. Zero slope alone is necessary but does not guarantee that the real <dispersion relation> has a root.
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