Thrust Generation Through a Collimated Electron Beam in a Magnetic Mirror and its Possible Applications in Plasma Thrusters

Abstract

In this article, we apply some basic concepts of electric thrusters, using Monte Carlo simulations. One such concept is the thrust, which we calculate for the simulated case of a simple thruster, consisting of two stages. The goal is to study the thrust in a magnetic bottle as a function of the collimation of an assembly of particles. In the first stage, a voltage applied between a pair of electrodes accelerates the particles. We perform simulations of the behavior of the assembly of charged particles. A normal distribution is used for the initial velocities of the assembly, with a given standard deviation. The resulting velocity distribution and its dependence on the applied voltage are analyzed. Further, the set of particles, whose pitch angles follow a normal distribution with a given standard deviation, enters a magnetic bottle where it is collimated to reduce its dispersion upon the exit of the thruster. In this second stage, we study the conditions for which the collimation produced, by the magnetic bottle, leads to the least thrust reduction. For the simulations, we assume electrons; However, the concepts apply to any charged particle species. The simulations show that the standard deviation of the pitch angle distribution has an important influence on the confinement of charged particles and on the thrust that can be generated when collimating the particle beam in a magnetic bottle.