topics in plasma physics and other subsequent topics

topic on plasma physics basics considering multiple fundamentals

1. Topics George Herrera 06/14/2024

2. What is a plasma? A plasma is an ionized gas made up of charged particles in quasineutrality and exhibit collective behavior. There are 3 criteria that define a plasma λ D << L : The Debye length is much smaller than the plasma dimension n e λ D 3 >> 1 : The number of particles inside a sphere of Debye radius exceeds 1 ω pe τ coll >> 1: The plasma frequency is much larger than the collision frequency

3. Criteria #1 -- λ D << L This ensures that the EM forces between charged particles cancels out at a distance small enough to not effect the particles inside the overall plasma effectively producing a quasineutral state. Poisson’s eq:

4. Criteria #2 -- n e λ D 3 >> 1 For Debye shielding to occur there needs to be a sufficient number of particles to cancel out the EM forces and enable the collective behavior exhibited by the shielding mechanism.

5. Criteria #3 -- ω pe τ coll >> 1 This ensures that the plasma exhibits collective particle motions to maintain quasineutrality. Since the interparticle collisions tend to dissipate and disrupt the collective behavior, charge built up would occur and cancel out any charge neutrality.

6. Single Particle Motion Equation of Motion Maxwell’s Equations

7. Single Particle Motion in EM fields B ≠ 0, E = 0

8. Single Particle Motion in EM fields B ≠ 0, E ≠ 0

9. Single Particle Motion in EM fields   <<1 <<1

10. Single Particle Motion in EM fields   <<1 <<1