Kinetic Theory of Expansion of Two-Component Plasma in a Plane Vacuum Diode

• Published in: Fluid dynamics Vol. 58; no. 6; pp. 1148 - 1155
• Main Authors: Kozhevnikov, V. Yu, Kozyrev, A. V., Igumnov, V. S., Semenyuk, N. S., Kokovin, A. O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.12.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cathodes; Charged particles; Classical and Continuum Physics; Classical Mechanics; Collisionless plasmas; Electric arcs; Electric fields; Engineering Fluid Dynamics; Fluid- and Aerodynamics; Kinetic equations; Kinetic theory; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Poisson equation; Positive ions; anomalous ion acceleration; computational physical kinetics; vacuum breakdown
• ISSN: 0015-4628; 1573-8507
• DOI: 10.1134/S0015462823601900

The results of study of the initial stage of expansion of a collisionless plasma with the electric current into a plane vacuum gap on the basis of kinetic equations for electrons and ions and the Poisson equation for the electric field are given. Self-consistent dynamics of a two-component plasma and electric field are theoretically modeled and the fundamental mechanism for establishing superthermal velocities of charged particles is described in detail. The parameters of anode-directed flows of positive ions in the cathode plume plasma are calculated. The expansion velocities of the cathode plume plasma observed in vacuum arcs at the level of (1−5) × 10 6 cm/s can be explained within the framework of the proposed collisionless mechanism.