Plasma instability of a vacuum arc centrifuge

Ever since conception of the vacuum arc centrifuge in 1980, periodic fluctuations in the ion saturation current and floating potential have been observed in Langmuir probe measurements in the rotation region of a vacuum arc centrifuge. In this work we develop a linearized theoretical model to descri...

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Published inPhysical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics Vol. 65; no. 4 Pt 2B; p. 046409
Main Authors Hole, M J, Dallaqua, R S, Simpson, S W, Del Bosco, E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.04.2002
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Summary:Ever since conception of the vacuum arc centrifuge in 1980, periodic fluctuations in the ion saturation current and floating potential have been observed in Langmuir probe measurements in the rotation region of a vacuum arc centrifuge. In this work we develop a linearized theoretical model to describe a range of instabilities in the vacuum arc centrifuge plasma column, and then test the validity of the description through comparison with experiment. We conclude that the observed instability is a "universal" instability, driven by the density gradient, in a plasma with finite conductivity.
ISSN:1539-3755
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevE.65.046409