Instabilities, Structures and Transport in Partially Magnetized E×B Plasmas

• Published in: IEEE conference record-abstracts - IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science p. 9
• Main Author: Smolyakov, A.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 06.12.2020
• Subjects: Ions; Magnetic devices; Magnetrons; Nonuniform electric fields; Plasmas; Propulsion; Shock waves
• ISSN: 2576-7208
• DOI: 10.1109/ICOPS37625.2020.9717848

Partially magnetized plasmas are defined here as plasmas with a moderate magnetic field such that the electrons are strongly magnetized due to their small Larmor radius compared to the length scale of the interest, such as wavelength, inhomogeneities gradient length scale, or device size, while the ions are not or weakly magnetized due to the large ion Larmor radius. These plasmas are often subject of the steady electric field perpendicular to the magnetic field. Such conditions occur naturally in the ionosphere, collisionless shock waves in space. The \mathrm{E}\times \mathrm{B} plasmas is a basis of the operation of many industrial devices for space propulsion (Hall thrusters) and material processing (magnetrons, etc). Despite disparities of various applications there exists strong commonality of fundamental physics of waves and instabilities manifested in partially magnetized \mathrm{E}\times \mathrm{B} plasmas. Free energy sources due to the \mathrm{E}\times \mathrm{B} electron drift, beams of unmagnetized ion, plasma and magnetic field gradients, result in complex picture of instabilities and structure formations in such plasmas. In this talk the common physics of Farley-Buneman instability in ionosphere, Simon-Hoh and gradient modes in electric propulsion devices and magnetrons will be discussed. Recent results on self-organization, structures and anomalous transport will be presented [1]-[3].