Computer simulations of finite plasmas convected across magnetized plasmas

Abstract

A two-dimensional electrostatic particle-in-cell code is used to simulate the convection of a plasma stream across a uniform magnetized plasma in the plane perpendicular to a given magnetic field B. These simulations show that the stream is convected by the E×B drift, where E is the electric field produced by polarization charge layers at the edges of the stream. The E×B velocity decreases as the background plasma density increases and with the distance traveled by the stream. This slowing of the stream is due to a short circuiting of the electric field by the background plasma within the stream that also polarizes and E×B drifts with the plasma stream. The simulations also show that the short circuiting of the electric field reduces the erosion of the plasma stream and the background plasma outside the stream is pushed away from the stream path by the fringe electric field.