Boundary Larmor radius effect on electrostatic waves

Journal Article · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1991 · Physics of Fluids B; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.859779· OSTI ID:5025434

Li, J; Scheffel, J ^[1]

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1. Department of Plasma Physics and Fusion Research, Alfven Laboratory, Royal Institute of Technology, S-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)

The linearized Vlasov--Poisson equations, which combine to an integrodifferential equation for the perturbed electric potential, are used to investigate the effect of finite plasma size on the stability of electrostatic waves in a homogeneous plasma slab. The distortion of the gyromotion of the particles at the plasma boundary influences wave stability, a phenomenon termed the boundary Larmor radius (BLR) effect. The integrodifferential equation, treated as an eigenvalue problem, is discretized into a matrix dispersion equation by use of the Galerkin method and is then solved numerically. It is found that the ion Bernstein wave, which is undamped in an infinite homogeneous plasma, now becomes damped with a maximum damping rate of 0.35 {omega}{sub {ital ci}} at {ital r}{sub {ital G}}/{ital L} (ion Larmor radius over wall distance){approx}0.15. In general, the damping is less pronounced at shorter perpendicular wavelengths. It implies a necessity to take into account the BLR effect in the kinetic stability studies for sufficiently large ion Larmor radius in comparison to the characteristic dimension.

• OSTI ID: 5025434
• Journal Information: Physics of Fluids B; (United States), Journal Name: Physics of Fluids B; (United States) Vol. 3:11; ISSN 0899-8221; ISSN PFBPE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640430* -- Fluid Physics-- Magnetohydrodynamics
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
BERNSTEIN MODE
BOLTZMANN-VLASOV EQUATION
BOUNDARY LAYERS
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
DISPERSION RELATIONS
EIGENVALUES
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
EQUATIONS
GALERKIN-PETROV METHOD
INTEGRAL EQUATIONS
ION WAVES
ITERATIVE METHODS
LARMOR RADIUS
LAYERS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MATRICES
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OSCILLATION MODES
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
PLASMA
PLASMA WAVES
POISSON EQUATION
STABILITY