Collisional transport treatment of surface plasma structures
Calculations are shown of the structure of plasmas in equilibrium with solid surfaces that reemit incident plasma ions as relatively cold neutral gas. A numerical transport model that includes a Fokker--Planck treatment of ion--ion collisions obtains the distribution function for ions in a phase space of one spatial coordinate and two velocities. This is done self-consistently with an electrostatic potential, a Maxwell--Boltzmann description of electrons, and electron impact ionization of the reemited neutrals. Solutions are obtained from a higher temperature kinetic regime where Coulomb collisions are nearly negligible to a lower temperature regime where plasma behavior is approximately fluidlike. A result of these calculations is the resolution of an ambiguity posed by previous kinetic regime calculations that omitted ion--ion collisions and obtained a family of solutions for each set of physical parameters (Phys. Rev. Lett. /bold 49/, 650 (1982); Phys. Fluids B /bold 1/, 448 (1989)). The physically correct solution for semi-infinite surface plasmas is shown to be the member of each family that maximizes the ion thermal conduction to the surface and the magnitude of a maximum in the electrostatic potential that is found in these and the previous calculations. Further results are in agreement at lower temperatures with solutions obtained from a fluid model and the identification of the correct boundary condition on normal flow velocity to be used in fluid models.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, X-1, E531, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 5823276
- Journal Information:
- Phys Fluids B; (United States), Journal Name: Phys Fluids B; (United States) Vol. 1:9; ISSN PFBPE
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Surface plasma structures in the kinetic regime
Related Subjects
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
COLLISIONAL PLASMA
COLLISIONS
COORDINATES
COULOMB FIELD
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
ELECTRIC FIELDS
EQUATIONS
EQUILIBRIUM
FOKKER-PLANCK EQUATION
FUNCTIONS
INDUSTRY
ION COLLISIONS
ION-ION COLLISIONS
MATHEMATICAL SPACE
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
PHASE SPACE
PLASMA
PLASMA SIMULATION
SIMULATION
SOLIDS
SPACE
SPACE VEHICLES
SURFACES
VEHICLES
VELOCITY