Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmsm53a1362l&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #SM53A-1362
Physics
Plasma Physics
[7829] Space Plasma Physics / Kinetic Waves And Instabilities, [7831] Space Plasma Physics / Laboratory Studies And Experimental Techniques, [7852] Space Plasma Physics / Solitons And Solitary Waves
Scientific paper
Electrostatic solitary structures are frequently observed in active regions of space such as the vicinity of reconnection current layers, the plasma sheet boundary layer, auroral current systems, the magnetopause or the quasi-perpendicular bow-shock. These structures are thought to affect plasma resistivity or heating, and are often thought to be generated by electron beams. We have conducted experiments at UCLA's Large Plasma Device (LAPD) by injecting electron beams along the background magnetic field direction. The size of the plasma column and the collisional mean free path are much larger than the scales associated to the beam or wavelength of the generated structures. Electric field probes of tip size and inter-probe distances smaller than the Debye length enabled the measurements of Debye-scale structures at a sampling frequency much higher than the plasma frequency. The density and magnetic field strength were varied such that the ratio of the electron plasma frequency to the cyclotron frequency ranges from smaller than 1 to larger than 1. Positive potential pulses with durations of a few plasma periods and half-width from 4 to 25 Debye lengths were observed. These solitary structures propagate along the background magnetic field at roughly the background electron thermal speed, which is at least 20 times smaller than the beam speed, indicating that a generation mechanism distinct from the conventional two-stream instability is required.
Chen Leon L.
Chiang F. C.
Gekelman W. N.
Kintner Paul M.
Lefebvre Bertrand
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