Overstability of plasma slow electron holes
Author(s)
Hutchinson, IH![Thumbnail](/bitstream/handle/1721.1/147197/2112.04272.pdf.jpg?sequence=4&isAllowed=y)
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Sufficient conditions are found on the ion velocity distribution fi
and potential amplitude for stability of steady electron holes moving at slow speeds, coinciding with the bulk of fi
. Fully establishing stability requires calculation of the ion response to shift potential perturbations having an entire range of oscillatory frequencies, because under some conditions real frequencies intermediate between the ion and electron responses prove to be unstable even when the extremes are not. The mechanism of this overstability is explained and calculated in detail. Electron holes of peak potential ψ
less than approximately 0.01 times the background temperature ( ψ≲0.01T0/e
) avoid the oscillatory instability entirely. For them, the necessary condition that there be a local minimum in fi
in which the hole resides is also sufficient, unless the magnetic field B
is low enough to permit the transverse instability having finite wavenumber k
perpendicular to B
.
Date issued
2022Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and EngineeringJournal
Journal of Plasma Physics
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Citation
Hutchinson, IH. 2022. "Overstability of plasma slow electron holes." Journal of Plasma Physics, 88 (1).
Version: Original manuscript