Characteristics of collisional damping of surface ion-acoustic mode in Divertor Plasma Simulator-2 (DiPS-2)

The dissipation of ion-acoustic surface waves propagating in a semi-bounded and collisional plasma which has a boundary with vacuum is theoretically investigated and this result is used for the analysis of edge-relevant plasma simulated by Divertor Plasma Simulator-2 (DiPS-2). The collisional damping of the surface wave is investigated for weakly ionized plasmas by comparing the collisionless Landau damping with the collisional damping as follows: (1) the ratio of ion temperature $({T_i})$ to electron temperature $({T_e})$ should be very small for the weak collisionality $({T_i}/{T_e} \ll 1)$ ; (2) the effect of collisionless Landau damping is dominant for the small parallel wavenumber, and the decay constant is given as $\gamma \approx{-} \sqrt {\mathrm{\pi }/2} {k_\parallel }{\lambda _{De}}\omega _{pi}^2/{\omega _{pe}}$ ; and (3) the collisional damping dominates for the large parallel wavenumber, and the decay constant is given as $\gamma \approx{-} {\nu _{in}}/16$ , where ${\nu _{in}}$ is the ion–neutral collisional frequency. An experimental simulation of the above theoretical prediction has been done in the argon plasma of DiPS-2, which has the following parameters: plasma density ${n_e} = (\textrm{2--9)} \times \textrm{1}{\textrm{0}^{11}}\;\textrm{c}{\textrm{m}^{ - 3}}$ , ${T_e} = 3.7- 3.8\;\textrm{eV}$ , ${T_i} = 0.2- 0.3\;\textrm{eV}$ and collision frequency ${\nu _{in}} = 23- 127\;\textrm{kHz}$ . Although the wavelength should be specified with the given parameters of DiPS-2, the collisional damping is found to be $\gamma = ( - 0.9\;\textrm{to}\; - 5) \times {10^4}\;\textrm{rad}\;{\textrm{s}^{ - 1}}$ for ${k_\parallel }{\lambda _{De}} = 10$ , while the Landau damping is found to be $\gamma = ( - 4\;\textrm{to}\; - 9) \times {10^4}\;\textrm{rad}\;{\textrm{s}^{ - 1}}$ for ${k_\parallel }{\lambda _{De}} = 0.1$ .

The pre -breakdown characteristics of weakly ionized media in the high non-uniform electric field using calculations with refined grid cells

The theoretical model of a pre-breakdown ions formation in a liquid dielectric and their flows, caused by high non-uniform electric field is represented. The 3D system of the macroscopic pre-breakdown electrohydrodynamic equations is written. Influence of the electric field on the molecule dissociation rate is taken into account. The system includes the Poison equation for electric field potential, the equation of ions formation and the Navier-Stokes equations with electric force. In addition, results of modelling using refined mesh are presented.

Polarization Properties of Obliquely Incident EM Waves in Nonuniform Weakly Ionized Dusty Plasma

Effects of nonuniform weakly ionized dusty plasma on the polarization properties of obliquely incident electromagnetic (EM) waves were theoretically investigated in this paper. The dielectric coefficient of magnetized dusty plasma is obtained based on the Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook collision model. Then, the effects of external magnetic field, dust radii, and density on the polarization mismatch loss of obliquely incident EM waves in the L-band were analyzed using the equivalent impedance method. Results indicate that the larger the external magnetic field, the greater the polarization mismatch loss. In addition, we also found that dusty particles alleviate the deterioration of the polarization state significantly; regulating and controlling dust radius and density can avoid polarization reversal and reduce the polarization mismatch loss. We further analyzed the variation of the polarization state under different reentry heights. Our analysis reveals interesting features concerning polarization properties of obliquely incident EM waves, which provide an important theoretical basis for information reception in the plasma sheath containing ablative particles.

Distribution of the charged particles of a gas-discharge laser plasma in a transverse magnetic field. I. Calculation model

The paper considers a physical and mathematical model describing the influence of an external transverse magnetic field on the distribution of charged particles in a positive column of a gas discharge. This model is developed in relation to the weakly ionized plasma of a gas-discharge laser. In this case, the plasma flow is considered as an analog of a liquid consisting of two practically independent components – electrons and ions.

Boundary Layer Multi-Property Flow Measurements Using a Micro-Plasma Sensor

When voltage is applied between two electrodes situated in close proximity to each other (10–100 μm), a weakly ionized, low temperature plasma discharge can be generated. This in turn creates a plasma sheath, an electrically ionized boundary layer (typically of the order of 10’s to 100’s of microns), where space charge effects dominate. The sheath acts like a virtual capacitor, with the plasma behaving as an inductor. Aerodynamic effects influence the plasma morphology (shape, thickness), thus making the plasma the transduction mechanism. The attraction to the use of plasma discharge as a transduction method for fluid flow property measurement stem from the fact that it lends itself to a probe implementation that is simple in design, can be miniaturized, and at the same time offers unmatched capability for handling ultra-high temperature environments. Sensing plasma discharge characteristics and their variation due to flow interaction can be done electrically, but also optically to yield time-varying intensity and spectral information from fluid-plasma interaction. The current paper focuses on the deployment of a micro-plasma sensor system as a new novel multi-parameter sensing approach for surface flow measurement. Results on pressure dynamics, shear flow, and other possible engineering parameters will be discussed in the context of results from several bench-level experiments.

Multibubble Sonoluminescence from a Theoretical Perspective

In the present review, complexity in multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) is discussed. At relatively low ultrasonic frequency, a cavitation bubble is filled mostly with water vapor at relatively high acoustic amplitude which results in OH-line emission by chemiluminescence as well as emissions from weakly ionized plasma formed inside a bubble at the end of the violent bubble collapse. At relatively high ultrasonic frequency or at relatively low acoustic amplitude at relatively low ultrasonic frequency, a cavitation bubble is mostly filled with noncondensable gases such as air or argon at the end of the bubble collapse, which results in relatively high bubble temperature and light emissions from plasma formed inside a bubble. Ionization potential lowering for atoms and molecules occurs due to the extremely high density inside a bubble at the end of the violent bubble collapse, which is one of the main reasons for the plasma formation inside a bubble in addition to the high bubble temperature due to quasi-adiabatic compression of a bubble, where “quasi” means that appreciable thermal conduction takes place between the heated interior of a bubble and the surrounding liquid. Due to bubble–bubble interaction, liquid droplets enter bubbles at the bubble collapse, which results in sodium-line emission.

Symmetric and Anti-Symmetric Damping Modes of Trivelpiece–Gould Waves in Weakly and Completely Ionized Plasma Waveguides

The collision effects on the low-frequency ion-acoustic Trivelpiece–Gould wave are investigated in weakly and completely ionized plasma waveguides by using the normal mode analysis. In weakly ionized plasma waveguides, it is found that the dependence of the harmonic mode on the absolute value of the scaled damping rate shows the opposite tendency for large and small radii of the cylindrical waveguide. It is also is found that the scaled damping rates for both weakly and completely ionized plasma waveguides decrease with an increase of the electron temperature. It is interesting to note that the scaled damping rate for weakly ionized plasma waveguides shows anti-symmetric behavior when the Trivelpiece–Gould wave propagates in the negative-z direction. However, it is found that the scaled damping rate for completely ionized plasma waveguides shows the symmetric behavior when the Trivelpiece–Gould wave propagates in the negative-z direction.