Structure of laminar shock waves in a collisionless plasma

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1975 · Sov. J. Plasma Phys. (Engl. Transl.); (United States)

OSTI ID:7291340

Bardakov, V M; Morozov, A G; Shukhman, I G

In an analysis of the structure of laminar ion-acoustic and magnetosonic shock waves in a collisionless plasma with a small but finite thermal spread of the ions it is shown that a foot appears as the Mach number M increases. This foot moves away from the shock front at the velocity of the reflected ions, and an oscillatory structure appears in the wave profile. At some M=M* the wave profile becomes aperiodic. At M>M* there is not steady-state solution. As the ion temperature T/sub i/ decreases, the critical Mach number M* increases and approaches some limiting value M*..-->..M**, above which laminar shock waves do not exist at any value of T/sub i/. Equations relating the wave properties to the Mach number are derived. The results are compared with the theory of Forslund and Freiberg. (AIP)

• Research Organization: Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, the Ionosphere, and Radio-Wave Propagation, Siberian Branch, Academy of Sciences of the USSR
• OSTI ID: 7291340
• Journal Information: Sov. J. Plasma Phys. (Engl. Transl.); (United States), Journal Name: Sov. J. Plasma Phys. (Engl. Transl.); (United States) Vol. 1:6; ISSN SJPPD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700108* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research-- Wave Phenomena
COLLISIONLESS PLASMA
FLUID FLOW
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
ION ACOUSTIC WAVES
ION WAVES
LAMINAR FLOW
MACH NUMBER
MAGNETOACOUSTIC WAVES
PLASMA
PLASMA WAVES
QUASI PARTICLES
SHOCK WAVES
SOLITONS
VELOCITY