Numerical analysis of electrostatic ion cyclotron instability in an electron-positron-ion plasma

Abstract

This paper presents a theoretical study of the effects of positron density on the electrostatic ion cyclotron instability in an electron-positron-ion plasma using the kinetic theory approach. It is supposed that positrons and electrons can drift parallel to the magnetic field either in the same or the opposite directions. The dispersion relation for the electrostatic ion cyclotron waves in an electron-positron-ion plasma is derived, and the numerical results are investigated. It is found that an increase in positron concentration increases the critical drift velocity for excitation of the instability in both configurations. It is also found that as the positron concentration increases the growth rate of instability decreases. In addition, it is shown that at low velocities the maximum instability growth rate for the unidirectional case is higher than the counter-streaming case; however, after a certain velocity, the maximum growth rate in the counter-streaming case dominates that of the unidirectional case.