Generation of fast charged particles in plasma by a wave with a stochastically jumping phase

The interaction between charged plasma particles and an electromagnetic wave with a stochastic jumping phase is analyzed by numerical simulations. It is demonstrated that, in the course of interaction, the particle energy can increase by more than one order of magnitude. Optimal conditions for efficient interaction of charged plasma particles with a wave having a stochastically jumping phase are determined. According to the simulation results, substantial acceleration of charged plasma particles by a wave with a stochastically jumping phase takes place both at fixed time intervals between phase jumps and when these intervals are random. The influence of the wave parameters, such as the wave amplitude, the characteristic time interval between phase jumps, and the characteristic magnitude of these jumps, on the acceleration dynamics is analyzed.     

Dusty plasma in the region of the lunar terminator

Dusty plasma in the region of the lunar terminator is considered. It is shown that, in this region, a structure resembling a plasma sheath forms near the lunar surface. This sheath creates a potential barrier, due to which electrons over the illuminated part of the Moon are confined by electrostatic forces. The width of the sheath-like structure is on the order of the ion Debye length. In this structure, significant (about several hundred V/m) electric fields arise, which lift charged micron-size dust grains to heights of several tens of centimeters. The suggested effect may be used to explain the glow observed by the Surveyor spacecraft over the lunar terminator.     

Quasistatic simulation of microwave discharges in a spherically symmetric electrode system in nitrogen

Results are presented from one-dimensional quasistatic simulations of steady microwave discharges in a spherically symmetric electrode system in nitrogen at pressures of 1–8 Torr. The computational model includes the equation for calculating the electric field strength in the quasistatic approximation, Poisson’s equation, the balance equations describing the kinetics of charged and neutral plasma particles, and the time-independent homogeneous Boltzmann equation for electrons. The processes involving vibrationally excited particles are taken into account by the familiar analytic expression for the vibrational distribution of molecules in the diffusion approximation. It is shown that, because of the electric field nonuniformity, the physical properties (in particular, the plasma ion composition) are different in different discharge regions.     

Processes accompanying the charging of dust grains in the ionospheric plasma

The influence of the neutral component of the dusty ionospheric plasma on the process of dust grain charging is analyzed. Microscopic ion fluxes onto a dust grain are calculated with allowance for the interaction with the neutral components of the ionospheric plasma for both negatively and positively charged dust grains. For the latter case, which takes place in the presence of intense UV or X-ray solar radiation, the electron heating caused by the photoelectric effect is also investigated. It is found that the efficiency of electron heating depends on the density of neutral particles. The altitudes at which these effects appreciably influence the charging of different types of nano- and microscale dust grains are determined. It is shown that these effects should be taken into account in describing noctilucent clouds, polar mesosphere summer echoes, and physical phenomena involving grains of meteoric origin.     

Ordered dusty structures in the plasma of an RF electrodeless gas discharge

Results are presented from the experimental studies and numerical simulations of the behavior of dust grains in the plasma of an inductive RF discharge. The experiments were carried out with neon at a pressure of 25–500 Pa and with 1.87-μm melamine formaldehyde grains. The discharge was excited by a ring inductor supplied from a generator operating at a 100-MHz frequency. The effective dust-grain interaction potential used in numerical simulations involved the spatial dependence of the grain charge on the plasma floating potential, grain-interaction anisotropy resulting from the focusing of the drift ion current by the negatively charged grains, and specific features of the shielding of the dust grains by the plasma electrons and ions recombining both in the plasma bulk and on the grain surface. The results of Monte Carlo simulations show that the dust grains form specific filament structures observed experimentally in the plasma of an inductive electrodeless discharge. __________ Translated from Fizika Plazmy, Vol. 26, No. 5, 2000, pp. 445–454. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2000 by Zobnin, Nefedov, Sinel’shchikov, Sinkevich, Usachev, Filinov, Fortov.     

Effect of plasma nonlinearity on the beam-plasma interaction in a hybrid plasma waveguide

A study is made of the characteristic features of the effect of plasma nonlinearity in a slow-wave structure on microwave generation by an electron beam and on electron beam energy losses. Theoretical results on the plasma density variation, the amplitude of the excited microwaves, and the velocity distribution function of the beam electrons are compared with the experimental data. It is shown that the self-consistency between the decreasing plasma density gradient and the spatial variation of the amplitude of an amplified wave in a slowwave structure leads to a significant (severalfold) increase in the efficiency with which the electron beam energy is converted into microwave energy in short pulses. The predictions of the theoretical model developed to describe the non-steady-state beam-plasma interaction agree well with the experimental data.     

Self-consistent electron and ion motion in a high-current plasma channel

The problem of self-consistent motion of charged particles in a high-current plasma channel is solved using the kinetic model of a plasma with electron and ion beams whose motion is governed by the resulting electromagnetic field. It is shown that, in a high-density plasma, the ion motion makes the contribution of electrons to the current in the channel negative, in which case the ion current is higher than the net current and the plasma moves at a high speed as an electrically neutral axial stream whose direction coincides with the direction of the current in the channel.     

Microfield model of quasi-independent particles and nonideal plasma

An original model of a plasma microfield constructed from first principles is much more advantageous than the earlier ones. The validity of the model is confirmed by optical measurements. The thermodynamics of a gaseous plasma is qualitatively described by a new ionization equilibrium model in which the interaction between charged particles is accounted for by means of a self-consistent plasma microfield. Numerical simulations show that, in this new model, nonideal effects are insignificant even at high plasma densities, and there are no phase transitions in a gaseous plasma, a conclusion that agrees with experimental data. The model is tested against the popular models of nonideal plasma and the SESAM database.     

Electrostatic structures in a plasma and BGK screening

It is shown that the electrostatic attraction between two likely charged plane plates in a plasma can appear due to the formation of “holes” in the phase space of the electrons or ions. The possibility of extending the theory of this effect to the three-dimensional case of a plasma with point dust grains is discussed.     

Resonance microwave volume plasma source

A conceptual design of a microwave gas-discharge plasma source is described. The possibility is considered of creating conditions under which microwave energy in the plasma resonance region would be efficiently converted into the energy of thermal and accelerated (fast) electrons. Results are presented from interferometric and probe measurements of the plasma density in a coaxial microwave plasmatron, as well as the data from probe measurements of the plasma potential and electron temperature. The dynamics of plasma radiation was recorded using a streak camera and a collimated photomultiplier. The experimental results indicate that, at relatively low pressures of the working gas, the nonlinear interaction between the microwave field and the inhomogeneous plasma in the resonance region of the plasmatron substantially affects the parameters of the ionized gas in the reactor volume.     

Nonlinear heavy-ion-acoustic waves in an adiabatic collisionless Bi-ion plasma

The basic properties of heavy-ion-acoustic (HIA) waves have been investigated in a collisionless plasma system which is supposed to be composed of nonthermal electrons, Boltzmann distributed light ions, and adiabatic positively charged inertial heavy ions. The Kortewg-de Vries and Burgers equations are derived in nonplanar (cylindrical and spherical) geometry by employing the standard reductive perturbation method for studying the basic features (viz. amplitude, phase speed, etc.) of HIA solitary and shock waves, which are associated with either positive or negative potential. It is found that the effects of nonplanar geometry, adiabaticity of positively charged inertial heavy ions, the presence of nonthermal (Cairns distributed) electrons, and number densities of the plasma components significantly modify the basic features of nonplanar HIA waves. It has been observed that the properties of solitary and shock waves associated with HIA waves in a nonplanar geometry differ from those in a planar geometry. The implications of our results may be helpful in understanding the electrostatic perturbations in various laboratory and astrophysical plasma environments.     

Screening of the dust grain charge in a nonequilibrium plasma with two positive ion species

The screening of the grain charge in a nonequilibrium plasma is studied with allowance for electron and ion fluxes to the grain surface and the bulk processes of production and loss of charged particles in an argon plasma. The objective of the paper is to investigate how the conversion of monatomic Ar⁺ ions into diatomic Ar₂⁺ ions influences the screening of the dust grain charge in a plasma produced by an external gas ionization source. It is found that the conversion of positive ions leads to the onset of a second ion species in the plasma and, as a consequence, to a three-exponential screening of the grain charge; moreover, in a certain range of plasma parameters, all three screening constants are of the same order of magnitude. Analytical results are compared with the data of numerical simulations carried out based on the drift-diffusion approximation.     

Effect of a strong monochromatic electromagnetic wave with circular polarization on one-dimensional wake waves in plasma

A study is made of the excitation of wake waves by a one-dimensional bunch of charged particles in an electron plasma in the presence of an intense monochromatic pump wave with circular polarization. In the main state (in the absence of a bunch), the interaction between a pump wave and a plasma is described by the Maxwell equations and the nonlinear relativistic hydrodynamic equations for a cold plasma. The excitation of linear waves by a one-dimensional bunch is investigated against a cold plasma background. It is shown that, in a certain range of the parameter values of the bunch, pump wave, and plasma, the amplitude of the excited transverse waves grows as the energy of the bunch particles increases until the relativistic factor of the bunch reaches a certain threshold value above which the transverse wave amplitude becomes essentially independent of the bunch particle energy and grows as the intensity and frequency of the pump wave increase. The amplitude and wavelength of the longitudinal field, which is shown to depend weakly on the energy of the bunch particles, grows with increasing the pump wave intensity.     

Propagation of an ultrawideband electromagnetic signal in ionospheric plasma

The propagation of an ultrawideband electromagnetic signal in the ionosphere—a plasma medium with spatially nonuniform characteristics—is studied analytically in the high-frequency approximation. The effect of the plasma dielectric properties and angular divergence on the shape and frequency spectrum of the propagating signal is investigated. It is shown that the spectral energy density of the signal is preserved if collisions of ionospheric plasma electrons are neglected.     

Dust-acoustic waves in a nonuniform adiabatic dusty plasma in the presence of polarization force

The linear propagation of the dust-acoustic (DA) waves in a nonuniform adiabatic dusty plasma, which consists of inertialess adiabatic electrons, inertialess adiabatic ions, and inertial negatively charged dust by taking into account the effects of polarization force, is theoretically investigated. It is found that the linear dispersion properties of the DA waves are significantly modified by the dust density nonuniformity, adiabaticity of electrons and ions, and the effects of the polarization force. It is shown that the phase speed of the DA waves is increased with the increase of adiabaticity of electrons and ions but decreased with the increase of the effects of polarization force. It is also shown that the dust density is enhanced with the increase of adiabatic index but depleted with the increase of polarization force. The scenarios relevant to dust-ion plasma in space environments are briefly addressed.     

Theory of the ICR heating of a plasma column: Methodological note

A set of wave equations is derived that describes electromagnetic waves at frequencies on the order of the ion gyrofrequency in a plasma column with an arbitrary electron temperature. This set takes into account, in particular, the resonant interaction of electrons with waves in the transit-time magnetic pumping regime. The effect of the amplification of the electromagnetic fields of current-carrying antennas by the plasma is analyzed. The evolution of the fields with an increase of plasma density from a zero value (vacuum) is considered. The main parameters are determined for minority ion cyclotron resonance heating in the planned EPSILON system.     

Diffuse and constricted modes of a dc discharge in neon: Simulation of the hysteresis transition

Results are presented from theoretical studies of high-pressure (～100 Torr) dc discharges in neon. The diffuse and constricted discharge modes are studied using a model including the equation of balance for charged and excited particles, heat conduction equations for the neutral gas and plasma electrons, and Poisson’s equation for the radial electric field at a fixed total discharge current. A specific feature of the constricted mode in the investigated range of low fields and high degrees of ionization is that the excitation and ionization rates in the center of the discharge tube and at the periphery differ by several orders of magnitude. This implies that, in the constricted mode, the region where the electron energy distribution function is Maxwellian due to electron-electron collisions may adjoin the region (beyond the constriction zone) where the high-energy part of the distribution function is depleted. The hysteresis transition between the diffuse and constricted modes is analyzed. A transition from the constricted to the diffuse mode can be regarded as a manifestation of the nonlocal character of the formation of the electron distribution function, specifically, the diffusion of high-energy electrons capable of producing gas ionization from the central (constricted) region toward the periphery. The nonlocal formation of the distribution function is described by a nonlocal kinetic equation accounting for electron-electron collisions and electron transport along the radius of the discharge tube. Since only high-energy electrons produce gas ionization, the effect of the nonlocal formation of the electron distribution function is taken into account by introducing the effective temperature of the high-energy part of the distribution function and solving the equation for the radial profile of the high-energy part of the distribution function. This approach allows one to approximately take into account the nonlocal character of the electron distribution function without substantial expenditure of computer resources. The nonlocal model makes it possible to numerically simulate the hysteresis transition between the diffuse and constricted modes, which is impossible in the local approximation.     

Theory of the polarization bremsstrahlung from thermal electrons scattered by the Debye sphere of an ion in a plasma

The polarization bremsstrahlung from thermal electrons scattered by the Debye sphere of an ion in a plasma is studied in the quasiclassical approximation. The model of the local plasma frequency is used to check the validity of the asymptotic expression for the polarizability of the electron cloud of an ion in the high-frequency range. This asymptotic expression is then used to derive a formula for the intensity of the total effective polarization bremsstrahlung. The R factor (the ratio of the contribution from the polarization bremsstrahlung to the contribution from conventional static bremsstrahlung) is obtained as a function of the plasma coupling parameter and electron density in order to analyze the role of the polarization bremsstrahlung in the total bremsstrahlung of the thermal plasma electrons. The spectral intensity of the effective polarization bremsstrahlung is calculated in the rotational approximation, which was previously employed in the theory of conventional static bremsstrahlung. It is shown that the spectral intensity of the polarization bremsstrahlung from thermal electrons scattered by the Debye sphere around an ion, as compared with the polarization bremsstrahlung by fast superthermal electrons, decreases more gradually with increasing frequency.     

Radial electric field and rotation of the ensemble of plasma particles in tokamak

The velocity of macroscopic rotation of an ensemble of charged particles in a tokamak in the presence of an electric field has been calculated in a collisionless approximation. It is shown that the velocity of toroidal rotation does not reduce to a local velocity of electric drift and has opposite directions on the inner and outer sides of the torus. This result is supplemented by an analysis of the trajectories of motion of individual particles in the ensemble, which shows that the passing and trapped particles of the ensemble acquire in the electric field, on the average, different toroidal velocities. For the trapped particles, this velocity is equal to that of electric drift in the poloidal magnetic field, while the velocity of passing particles is significantly different. It is shown that, although the electric-field-induced shift of the boundaries between trapped and passing particles in the phase space depends on the particle mass and charge and is, in the general case, asymmetric, this does not lead to current generation.