Finite-amplitude RF heating rates for magnetized electrons in neutral plasma

Abstract

A theoretical model is developed and evaluated using a Vlasov–Poisson treatment to calculate radio frequency (RF) electric field heating rates for magnetized electrons in neutral plasma when the magnetic and electric field directions are colinear and when the RF is of sufficiently high frequency. This calculation reduces to the theory for magnetized longitudinal AC conductivity introduced by Oberman and Shure [Phys. Fluids 6, 834–838 (1963)] in the low-amplitude limit when the electron oscillation velocity is much less than the thermal velocity. For electron coupling strengths Γ = 0.15–0.015 and RF fields accessible to ultracold neutral plasma experiments, the model predicts mild variations in heating rate of order unity across magnetization strengths spanning orders of magnitude. The predicted effect of including a Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook-type collisional relaxation term in the Vlasov equation reduces the heating rate by 5% or less across magnetizations.