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Title: A limitation to the analogy between pure electron plasmas and two-dimensional inviscid fluids

Journal Article · · Physics of Fluids B; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.860546· OSTI ID:5911636
;  [1]
  1. Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

Thermal corrections to [bold E][times][bold B] drifts cause small structures in pure electron plasmas to smear. This smearing breaks the strict analogy between the behavior of pure electron plasmas and the behavior of two-dimensional inviscid fluids. The causes and consequences of this smearing are discussed, a criterion for the validity of the plasma/fluid analogy is constructed, and experimental examples of the failure of the analogy are presented. The criterion indicates that fluid-like behavior can persist to scale lengths far smaller than the normal collective'' behavior limit.

OSTI ID:
5911636
Journal Information:
Physics of Fluids B; (United States), Vol. 5:12; ISSN 0899-8221
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English