Longitudinal waves in a perpendicular collisionless plasma shock: II. Vlasov ions

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the linear dispersion relation for electrostatic waves in a Vlasov plasma of unmagnetized, Maxwellian ions and magnetized, Maxwellian electrons. The electrons undergo E × B and ∇B drifts, and the electron β is small. For propagation in the perpendicular direction, maximum growth rates can be substantially larger than those of the zero magnetic field ion acoustic instability. For propagation outside a few degrees from the perpendicular the dispersion characteristics are essentially those of the ion acoustic instability.