PPPL-4906
Tendency of a Rotating Electron Plasma to Approach the Brillouin Limit
Authors: Renaud Gueroult, Amnon Fruchtman and Nathaniel J. Fisch
Abstract:
A neutral plasma is considered to be immersed in an axial magnetic eld together
with a radial electric eld. If the electrons are magnetized, but the ions are not
magnetized, then the electrons will rotate but the ions will not rotate, leading to
current generation. The currents, in turn, weaken the axial magnetic eld, leading
to an increase of the rotation frequency of the slow Brillouin mode. This produces a
positive feedback eect, further weakening the magnetic eld. The operating point
thus tends to drift towards the Brillouin limit, possibly nding stability only in
proximity to the limit itself. An example of this eect might be the cylindrical Hall
thruster conguration.
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Submitted to: Physics of Plasmas (May 2013)
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Download PPPL-4906 (pdf 867 KB 17 pp)
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