Structure of a singly ionizing current sheet propagating in a low density gas

1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (15) ◽  
pp. 1769-1780 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Pert

The structure of a singly ionizing current sheet is examined under steady-state conditions. Convergent solutions are only found in the presence of ambient transverse magnetic and electric fields. A collision-free model is used to approximate to the ionization region in the front. This solution is cut off at the electron mean free path and matched to a collision-dominated magnetohydrodynamic two-fluid calculation for the back of the sheet. The conditions for the establishment of a steady state are examined for these solutions.

1987 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nagendra Singh ◽  
H. Thiemann ◽  
R. W. Schunk

Various mechanisms for driving double layers in plasmas are briefly described, including applied potential drops, currents, contact potentials, and plasma expansions. Some dynamic features of the double layers are discussed. These features, as seen in simulations, laboratory experiments and theory, indicate that double layers and the currents through them undergo slow oscillations, which are determined by the ion transit time across an effective length of the system in which the double layers form. It is shown that a localized potential dip forms at the low potential end of a double layer, which interrupts the electron current through it according to the Langmuir criterion, whenever the ion flux into the double is disrupted. The generation of electric fields perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field by contact potentials is also discussed. Two different situations have been considered; in one, a low-density hot plasma is sandwiched between high-density cold plasmas, while in the other a high-density current sheet permeates a low-density background plasma. Perpendicular electric fields develop near the contact surfaces. In the case of the current sheet, the creation of parallel electric fields and the formation of double layers are also discussed when the current sheet thickness is varied. Finally, the generation of electric fields (parallel to an ambient magnetic field) and double layers in an expanding plasma are discussed.


Open Physics ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonid Dekhtyaruk

AbstractWithin the framework of the modified semi-classical Fuchs-Sondheimer model, we investigated theoretically the electrical resistivity of multilayered structures (MLS) consisting of alternating metallic layers (of different purity and different thicknesses) in a transverse magnetic field as functions of the ratio of the adjacent layer thicknesses and the magnetic field value. We have derived both a general formula (valid at arbitrary values of layer thicknesses) and asymptotic expressions that are valid when metallic layers are thick or thin compared with the electron mean free path. We found a non-monotonic behavior in the resistivity vs. the value of an applied magnetic field. As we demonstrated, this behavior is sensitive to the characteristics of the electron scattering in the interlayer interfaces in low magnetic fields. Moreover, the MLS resistivity oscillates in high magnetic fields with the field value (or with the layer thicknesses). The oscillation includes the harmonics that correspond both to the each layer thicknesses and the total thickness. The intensity of the oscillation is determined by the diffusive electron scattering in the interfaces, and the oscillation amplitude is proportional to the coefficient of the electron transmission through the interlayer interfaces. We have calculated numerically the resistivity in a wide range of fields and layer thicknesses at various values of the parameters of the interface and bulk electron scattering.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (29) ◽  
pp. 1550206
Author(s):  
A. I. Agafonov

In this paper, using the Boltzmann transport equation, we study the zero temperature resistance of perfect metallic crystals of a finite thickness d along which a weak constant electric field E is applied. This resistance, hereinafter referred to as the phonon residual resistance, is caused by the inelastic scattering of electrons heated by the electric field, with emission of long-wave acoustic phonons and is proportional to [Formula: see text]. Consideration is carried out for Cu, Ag and Au perfect crystals with the thickness of about 1 cm, in the fields of the order of 1 mV/cm. Following the Matthiessen rule, the resistance of the pure crystals, the thicknesses of which are much larger than the electron mean free path is represented as the sum of both the impurity and phonon residual resistances. The condition on the thickness and field is found at which the low-temperature resistance of pure crystals does not depend on their purity and is determined by the phonon residual resistivity of the ideal crystals. The calculations are performed for Cu with a purity of at least 99.9999%.


2009 ◽  
Vol 626 ◽  
pp. 367-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEFAN MÄHLMANN ◽  
DEMETRIOS T. PAPAGEORGIOU

The effect of an electric field on a periodic array of two-dimensional liquid drops suspended in simple shear flow is studied numerically. The shear is produced by moving the parallel walls of the channel containing the fluids at equal speeds but in opposite directions and an electric field is generated by imposing a constant voltage difference across the channel walls. The level set method is adapted to electrohydrodynamics problems that include a background flow in order to compute the effects of permittivity and conductivity differences between the two phases on the dynamics and drop configurations. The electric field introduces additional interfacial stresses at the drop interface and we perform extensive computations to assess the combined effects of electric fields, surface tension and inertia. Our computations for perfect dielectric systems indicate that the electric field increases the drop deformation to generate elongated drops at steady state, and at the same time alters the drop orientation by increasing alignment with the vertical, which is the direction of the underlying electric field. These phenomena are observed for a range of values of Reynolds and capillary numbers. Computations using the leaky dielectric model also indicate that for certain combinations of electric properties the drop can undergo enhanced alignment with the vertical or the horizontal, as compared to perfect dielectric systems. For cases of enhanced elongation and alignment with the vertical, the flow positions the droplets closer to the channel walls where they cause larger wall shear stresses. We also establish that a sufficiently strong electric field can be used to destabilize the flow in the sense that steady-state droplets that can exist in its absence for a set of physical parameters, become increasingly and indefinitely elongated until additional mechanisms can lead to rupture. It is suggested that electric fields can be used to enhance such phenomena.


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