Shock waves in collisionless plasmas
Book on shock waves in collisionless plasmas covering basic equations and classification of shock structures, magnetosonic waves, shocks and solitons, electrostatic shocks and solitons, etc
Krall, N. A.↗
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Laminar wave-train structure of collisionless magnetic slow shocks
Collisionless magnetic slow shocks laminar wave train structure, using two-fluid hydromagnetics with ion cyclotron radius dispersion
Coroniti, F. V.↗
Collisionless shocks in plasmas
Collisionless small amplitude shocks in plasmas, considering wave dispersion and critical Mach number effects
Friedman, H. W.↗
Effect of the temperature gradient on the drift instabilities in a high-beta collisionless plasma
Inhomogeneous high-beta collisionless plasma temperature gradient effects on ion-acoustic and Alfvenic drift instabilities
Hung, R. J.↗
Dispersion discontinuities of strong collisionless shocks
Linear fluid equations are used to estimate wave train properties of strong collisionless shocks. Fast shocks exhibit several dispersion changes with increasing Mach number. For perpendicular propagation into a finite-beta plasma, an ion cyclotron radius trailing wave train exists only for (M sub F)2 is smaller than 2. Oblique fast shocks have a leading ion inertia wave train if M sub A is smaller than root of M(+)/M(-) cos theta/2 and a trailing electron inertia train if M sub A is greater than root of M(+)/M(-) cos theta/2. If the downstream sound speed exceeds the flow speed, linear wave theory predicts a trailing ion acoustic structure which probably resides within the magnetic shock. For a turbulent shock model in which an effective electron-ion collision frequency exceeds the lower hybrid frequency, ions decouple from the magnetic field; the shock wave train now trails with electron inertia and electron gyroradius lengths. Comparisons of this turbulent model and observations on the earth's bow shock are made.
Coroniti, F. V.↗
Laminar wave train structure of collisionless magnetic slow shocks
The laminar wave train structure of collisionless magnetic slow shocks is investigated using two fluid hydromagnetics with ion cyclotron radius dispersion. For shock strengths less than the maximally strong switch-off shock, in the shock leading edge dispersive steepening forms a magnetic field gradient, while in the downstream flow dispersive propagation forms a trailing wave train; dispersion scale lengths are the ion inertial length if beta is smaller than 1 and the ion cyclotron radius if beta is greater than 1. In the switch-off slow shock leading edge, dispersion only produced rotations of the magnetic field direction; the gradient of the magnetic field magnitude, and hence the shock steepening length, is determined solely by resistive diffusion. The switch-off shock structure consists of a long trailing of magnetic rotations which are gradually damped by resistivity.
Coroniti, F. V.↗
Collisionless solar wind. II - Variable electron temperature.
Examination of a two-component ?model' for the solar wind, in which the protons become collisionless beyond a distance from the solar center equal to or greater than 10 solar radii, where they are already highly supersonic. The proton temperatures are found from the double adiabatic equation of state. The electrons are highly subsonic, and their temperature profile is prescribed ad hoc. The momentum equations for the electrons and protons are solved subject to the conditions of quasi-neutrality and zero charge efflux from the sun. Some of the principal results are: (1) the proton thermal anisotropy is substantially reduced when solar rotation is considered; (2) solar rotation leads to significantly lower mean proton temperatures; and (3) the electron temperature profile in the supersonic region is the primary parameter determining flow acceleration there.
Hollweg, J. V.↗
VLF/ELF input impedance of an arbitrarily oriented loop antenna in a cold collisionless multicomponent magnetoplasma.
A study is made of the input impedance Z of a small strip-loop antenna with arbitrary orientation in a cold collisionless uniform multicomponent magnetoplasma. Assuming a uniform current distribution, an integral expression for Z is derived which is valid for arbitrary values of driving frequency, plasma composition and density, loop orientation angle, and static magnetic field strength. The integral expression is evaluated numerically for the VLF/ELF range in a plasma modeled upon the inner magnetosphere. Approximate closed-form expressions for Z are also developed. It is found that the loop VLF/ELF input reactance is essentially identical to its free space self inductance. Also the loop radiation resistance is found to be a strong function of the loop orientation angle for frequencies near the lower-hybrid-resonance frequency or below the proton gyrofrequency.
Wang, T. N. C.↗
Longitudinal waves in a perpendicular collisionless plasma shock. IV - Gradient B.
The consideration of elastic waves in a Vlasov plasma of unmagnetized ions and magnetized electrons undergoing E x B electron drift and gradient B drift, pursued in the earlier three parts, is brought to conclusion in this last part of the longitudinal wave study in a collisionless plasma shock. Detailed calculations of the effects of the beta sub e dimensionless parameter on the E x B electron drift instability are presented. It is shown that the range of propagation of the elastic waves about the perpendicular remains quite narrow, and that, for oblique propagation, the already narrow angular range of unstable waves is decreased by increases in the value of the beta sub e dimensionless parameter. Also, increases in wave number generally reduce the growth rate and the angular range of propagation.
Gary, S. P.↗
Collisionless plasma flow over a conducting sphere.
Laboratory simulation study of spacecraft-space plasma interaction using a plasma wind tunnel. Some preliminary results on a collisionless plasma flow pattern over a conducting sphere are presented. A physical explanation is given for the observed plasma flow behavior.
Stone, N. H.↗
Observations of collisionless drift waves.
Velocity distribution functions of both the electron and the proton component of the magnetospheric plasma are measured in 62 logarithmically spaced steps from 50 eV to 50 keV by an instrument carried upon the ATS-5 spacecraft in circular synchronous orbit (6.6 earth radii). Oscillations which appear to be collisionless drift waves having periods of several minutes or longer are found in this data. Linearized wave theory can be used to predict the theoretical perturbation distribution function in terms of the perturbing fields and the equilibrium distribution function. The functional dependence of the theoretical perturbation distribution function upon particle energy can then be compared with that of the measured perturbation.
Laquey, R. E.↗
Collisionless relaxation in spiral galaxy models
The increase in random kinetic energy of stars by rapidly fluctuating gravitational fields (collisionless or violent relaxation) in disk galaxy models is investigated for three interaction potentials of the stars corresponding to (1) point stars, (2) rod stars of length 2 kpc, and (3) uniform density spherical stars of radius 2 kpc. To stabilize the galaxy against the large scale bar forming instability, a fixed field corresponding to a central core or halo component of stars was added with the stars containing at most 20 percent of the total mass of the galaxy. Considerable heating occurred for both the point stars and the rod stars, whereas the use of spherical stars resulted in a very low heating rate. The use of spherical stars with the resulting low heating rate will be desirable for the study of large scale galactic stability or density wave propagation, since collective heating effects will no longer mask the phenomena under study.
Hohl, F.↗
Birefringing arising from the reorientation of the polarizability anisotropy of molecules in collisionless gases
The refractive index change in a collisionless gas is evaluated from the Stark shifts of the rotational energy levels that arise from the polarizability anisotropy. For the limit of an extremely short-duration excitation, a multilevel coherent effect resulted in delayed refractive index bursts. Both stationary and transient responses of this birefringence to an optical field were considered for symmetric top molecules, with particular emphasis on the special case of linear molecules.
Lin, C. H.↗
Intercomponent momentum transport and electrical conductivity of collisionless plasma
Based on the Lenard-Balescu equation, the interaction integral for the intercomponent momentum transfer in a two-component, collisionless plasma is evaluated in closed form. The distribution functions of the electrons and ions are represented in the form of nonisothermal, displaced Maxwellians corresponding to the 5-moment approximation. As an application, the transport of electrical current in an electric field is discussed for infrasonic up to sonic electron-ion drift velocities.
Wilhelm, H. E.↗
Effect of dissipation due to firehose instability on half-jet flow of a collisionless plasma
Consideration of the effect of collisionless dissipation, due to firehose instability, on a two-dimensional steady flow. The discussion is limited to aligned and perturbation flow. It is shown that the dissipation terms are proportional to the fluctuation energy density in the main flow, and that they are nonlinearly related to other quantities through the growth rate parameter of instability.
Morioka, S.↗
Birefringence arising from the reorientation of the polarizability anisotropy of molecules in collisionless gases
The refractive-index change in a collisionless gas is evaluated from the Stark shifts of the rotational energy levels that arise from the polarizability anisotropy. In the limit of an extremely-short-duration excitation, a multilevel coherent effect results in delayed refractive-index bursts. Both stationary and transient responses of this birefringence to an optical field are considered for symmetric-top molecules, with particular emphasis on the special case of linear molecules.
Lin, C. H.↗
Theory of a cylindrical probe in a collisionless magnetoplasma
A theory is presented for a cylindrical electrostatic probe in a collisionless plasma in the case where the probe axis is inclined at an angle to a uniform magnetic field. The theory is applicable to electron collection, and under more restrictive conditions, to ion collection. For a probe at space potential, the theory is exact in the limit where probe radius is much less than Debye length. At attracting probe potentials, the theory yields an upper bound and an adiabatic limit for current collection. At repelling probe potentials, it provides a lower bound. The theory is valid if the ratios of probe radius to Debye length and probe radius to mean gyroradius are not simultaneously large enough to produce extrema in the probe sheath potential. The numerical current calculations are based on the approximation that particle orbits are helices near the probe, together with the use of kinetic theory to relate velocity distributions near the probe to those far from it. Probe characteristics are presented for inclination angles from 0 to 90 deg and for probe-radius mean-gyroradius ratios from 0.1 to infinity. For an angle of 0 deg, the end-effect current is calculated separately.
Laframboise, J. G.↗
Magnetic field reconnection in a collisionless plasma
A reasonably consistent model of steady-state magnetic-field-line reconnection in a collisionless plasma is constructed by incorporating ion-acoustic anomalous resistance into the hydromagnetic flow in the vicinity of the x-type neutral line. The Petschek-Vasyliunas (1975) reconnection theory is applied, and properties of the ion-acoustic instability are reviewed for the case of comparable ion and electron temperatures. Nonlinear saturation of the instability is examined, the saturation wave intensity is determined as a function of electron drift speed and electron/ion temperature ratio, and the computed wave intensities are used to estimate the steady electric field in the neutral region. Ion-acoustic anomalous resistance is shown to limit the electron drift speed to slightly above the marginally stable value. A model for the resistive-diffusion region is constructed which incorporates the properties of ion-acoustic anomalous resistance, and an approximate solution for the external flow region is matched to the resistive-region solution. It is found that the two solutions are sensibly matched only for a restricted range of upstream plasma parameters. Limitations and possible extensions of the model are discussed.
Coroniti, F. V.↗