Rotating structures in low temperature magnetized plasmas—insight from particle simulations

Frontiers in Physics

Boeuf, Jean-Pierre¹ 

[1] Université de Toulouse; UPS, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse; LAPLACE (Laboratoire Plasma et Conversion d'Energie), Toulouse, France

关键词: magnetized plasma;    cross-field transport;    plasma instabilities and turbulence;    magnetron discharges;    Hall thrusters;    Electron vortices;    rotating spoke;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fphy.2014.00074

学科分类：物理（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The EXB configuration of various low temperature plasma devices is often responsible for the formation of rotating structures and instabilities leading to anomalous electron transport across the magnetic field. In these devices, electrons are strongly magnetized while ions are weakly or not magnetized and this leads to specific physical phenomena that are not present in fusion plasmas where both electrons and ions are strongly magnetized. In this paper we describe basic phenomena involving rotating plasma structures in simple configurations of low temperature EXB plasma devices on the basis of PIC-MCC (Particle-In-Cell Monte Carlo Collisions) simulations. We focus on three examples: rotating electron vortices and rotating spokes in cylindrical magnetrons, and azimuthal electron-cyclotron drift instability in Hall thrusters. The simulations are not intended to give definite answers to the many physics issues related to low temperature EXB plasma devices but are used to illustrate and discuss some of the basic questions that need further studies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY