Properties of drift waves in a filamentary density depletion

This analytical and numerical study explores the properties of electrostatic, drift-wave eigenmodes trapped within a magnetic field-aligned depletion in plasma density and temperature whose transverse dimension is on the order of the electron skin depth. The dependence of the complex eigenfrequencie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of plasmas 1997-03, Vol.4 (3), p.555-565
Main Authors: Peñano, J. R., Morales, G. J., Maggs, J. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:This analytical and numerical study explores the properties of electrostatic, drift-wave eigenmodes trapped within a magnetic field-aligned depletion in plasma density and temperature whose transverse dimension is on the order of the electron skin depth. The dependence of the complex eigenfrequencies on key parameters is investigated for collisionless and collisional plasma. The collisional description is based on the Lorentz model of electron pitch-angle scattering. The separate roles of the gradients in density and temperature are illustrated for the collisional and collisionless regimes. The predictions are compared to experimental observations [J. E. Maggs and G. J. Morales, Geophys. Res. Lett. 23, 633 (1996); Phys. Plasmas 4, 290 (1997)] of a controlled striation in the laboratory.
ISSN:1070-664X
1089-7674
DOI:10.1063/1.872153