Streaming instability in negative ion plasma

Abstract

The streaming instability in an unmagnetized negative ion plasma has been studied by computational and theoretical methods. A one dimensional electrostatic Particle In Cell Simulation and fluid dynamical description of negative ion plasma showed that, if the positive ions are having a relative streaming velocity, four different wave modes corresponding to Langmuir wave, fast and slow ion waves and ion acoustic waves are produced. Below a critical wave number, instead of two distinct fast and slow ion waves, we observed a coupled wave mode. The value of the critical wave number is strongly determined by the ion streaming velocity. The thermal velocities of electrons and ions influence the growth rate of instability.