Buneman instability, pierce instability, and double-layer formation in a collisionless plasma

S. Iizuka, K. Saeki, N. Sato, Y. Hatta

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

85 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Instabilities and double-layer formation are systematically investigated on a bounded collisionless system with electron beam penetrating through a plasma. The Buneman instability is observed at low beam currents. Above a critical current, there appears a sudden nonoscillatory potential drop due to the Pierce instability, which traps ions in the potential well. This collisionless ion trapping provides a new formation mechanism of the double layer, which is controlled by changing the speed of the potential drop.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1404-1407
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume43
Issue number19
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1979 Jan 1

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy(all)

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