Analysis of particle orbits in an ultra-high-current plasma column

Abstract

Electron collisionless motion in an infinite plasma column is studied under the conditions of relaxed Bennet equilibrium in order to understand the macroscopic structure of the equilibrium, and serve as a preliminary step in an expanded study aimed at determining the relative importance of drift reversed currents. The model assumes, in the framework of the Vlasov theory, a Bennett equilibrium released of the constraint of a constant transverse temperature, a constant macroscopic speed of the charged particles with a constant ratio of their densities; the particles, however, are not required to be monoenergetic, which leads to a diffuse plasma edge. The results, in graphical form, define the values of the parameters for which drift reversals occur, and the conditions under which variations of the parameter values do not affect drift reversals, thus suggesting simplifications in the parametric study of particle trajectories.