Chaotic particle motion in Coulomb electric and uniform magnetic fields

Journal Article · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/91GL01149· OSTI ID:5813516

Sonmor, L J; Laframboise, J G ^[1]

---

1. York Univ. (United Kingdom)

In an attractive Coulomb electric field and a uniform magnetic field B, some particle orbits originating at infinite distance undergo many reflections, repeatedly approaching the Coulomb center. The chaotic nature of these orbits is discussed and illustrated by numerical calculations. The divergence of neighboring trajectories is shown to occur mostly in discrete jumps when they pass near the Coulomb center. The appearance of chaotic behavior in this simplified situation suggests that it will also occur when space-charge effects significantly perturb the potential distribution around a current-collecting electrode in a space magnetoplasma.

• OSTI ID: 5813516
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States), Vol. 18:8; ISSN 0094-8276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CHARGED PARTICLES
MOTION
IONOSPHERE
MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS
BOLTZMANN EQUATION
DISTANCE
ELECTRIC FIELDS
EQUATIONS OF MOTION
MAGNETIC FIELDS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
ORBITS
PLASMA
REFLECTION
SPACE CHARGE
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES
TRAJECTORIES
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EQUATIONS
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDRODYNAMICS
MECHANICS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
661320* - Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena- (1992-)