Abstract
AbstractA nonlinear dispersion relation is derived and solved for a 1‐D electron‐ion two‐stream (Buneman) instability excited in an isothermal field‐free plasma. The major nonlinear mechanism is the qualilinear modification of the background distribution function. We take into consideration the effect of Coulomb collisions which describes the broadening of the Cherenkov interaction of waves with particles. Nonlinear effects seem to lead, in field‐free plasma, to the increase in the current velocity and consequently, to the growth of the instability and a rapid turbulent heating of plasma electrons. The methods used here to solve the Vlasov's kinetic equation may also be used to investigate other types of current micro‐instabilities in plasmas.
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