The measured dispersion curves shown in Figure 4 (which are
typical of our measurements in the IPT) are very similar in shape to the
classical dispersion curves of Bernstein waves (see appendix B).
This is a pretty nice confirmation of the consistency of our assumptions,
in particular of the absence of strong departures from thermal equilibrium in
the encountered plasma. The measurements yield 
as a function of 
, whereas
the theoretical dispersion equation yields 
as a function of
. Fitting the theory to the measurements thus gives 
and
hence the electron temperature. Two cases are
to be considered, depending on
whether or not the plasma frequency is known independently.