Steady states in plasma physics—the Vlasov–Fokker–Planck equation

In this paper we investigate the non-linear Vlasov–Fokker–Planck (VFP) equation, a both physically and mathematically interesting modification of Vlasov's equation, which describes a plasma in a thermal bath. We prove existence, uniqueness and representation results for steady states of the VFP equation both in the case of a mollified interaction potential and for the VFP–Poisson system. The uniqueness and representation results are of special interest since they distinguish special solutions of the Vlasov equation.     

Stability for the Gravitational Vlasov–Poisson System in Dimension Two

We consider the two dimensional gravitational Vlasov–Poisson system. Using variational methods, we prove the existence of stationary solutions of minimal energy under a Casimir type constraint. The method also provides a stability criterion of these solutions for the evolution problem.     

Convergence des solutions faibles du système de Vlasov–Maxwell stationnaire vers des solutions faibles du système de Vlasov–Poisson stationnaire quand la vitesse de la lumière tend vers l'infini

We study here the behavior of weak solutions for the relativistic stationary Vlasov–Maxwell system with boundary conditions in a three-dimensional bounded domain with strictly star-shaped boundary, when the light speed becomes infinite. We prove the convergence toward a weak solution for the stationary Vlasov–Poisson system. The time periodic problem and the problem with initial-boundary conditions can be treated by the same method. To cite this article: M. Bostan, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 340 (2005).     

Global existence for the Vlasov–Darwin system in ℝ3 for small initial data

We prove the global existence of weak solutions to the Vlasov–Darwin system in R3 for small initial data. The Vlasov–Darwin system is an approximation of the Vlasov–Maxwell model which is valid when the characteristic speed of the particles is smaller than the light velocity, but not too small. In contrast to the Vlasov–Maxwell system, the total energy conservation does not provide an L2‐bound on the transverse part of the electric field. This difficulty may be overcome by exploiting the underlying elliptic structure of the Darwin equations under a smallness assumption on the initial data. We finally investigate the convergence of the Vlasov–Darwin system towards the Vlasov–Poisson system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the three-dimensional finite Larmor radius approximation: The case of electrons in a fixed background of ions

This paper is concerned with the analysis of a mathematical model arising in plasma physics, more specifically in fusion research. It directly follows, Han-Kwan (2010) [18], where the three-dimensional analysis of a Vlasov–Poisson equation with finite Larmor radius scaling was led, corresponding to the case of ions with massless electrons whose density follows a linearized Maxwell–Boltzmann law. We now consider the case of electrons in a background of fixed ions, which was only sketched in Han-Kwan (2010) [18]. Unfortunately, there is evidence that the formal limit is false in general. Nevertheless, we formally derive from the Vlasov–Poisson equation a fluid system for particular monokinetic data. We prove the local in time existence of analytic solutions and rigorously study the limit (when the inverse of the intensity of the magnetic field and the Debye length vanish) to a new anisotropic fluid system. This is achieved thanks to Cauchy–Kovalevskaya type techniques, as introduced by Caflisch (1990) [7] and Grenier (1996) [14]. We finally show that this approach fails in Sobolev regularity, due to multi-fluid instabilities.     

The classical limit of the relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell system in two space dimensions

The motion of a collisionless plasma is modelled by the Vlasov–Maxwell system. In this paper, solutions of the relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell system are considered in two space dimensions. The speed of light, c, appears as a parameter in the system. With representations of the electric and magnetic fields, conditions are established under which solutions of the relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell system converge pointwise to solutions of the non‐relativistic Vlasov–Poisson system as c tends to infinity, at the asymptotic rate of 1/c. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On Stationary Solutions of the Relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell System

We study stationary solutions of the relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell system of plasma physics which have a special form introduced (in the classical setting) by Rudykh, Sidorov and Sinitsy and establish their existence under suitable assumptions on the ansatz functions. © 1997 by B. G. Teubner Stuttgart–John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Math. Meth. Appl. Sci., Vol. 20, 667–677 (1997).     

On the two and one-half dimensional Vlasov–Poisson system with an external magnetic field: Global well-posedness and stability of confined steady states

The time evolution of a two-component collisionless plasma is modelled by the Vlasov–Poisson system. In this work, the setting is two and one-half dimensional, that is, the distribution functions of the particles species are independent of the third space dimension. We consider the case that an external magnetic field is present in order to confine the plasma in a given infinitely long cylinder. After discussing global well-posedness of the corresponding Cauchy problem, we construct stationary solutions whose support stays away from the wall of the confinement device. Then, in the main part of this work we investigate the stability of such steady states, both with respect to perturbations of the initial data, where we employ the energy-Casimir method, and also with respect to perturbations of the external magnetic field.     

Confined steady states of a Vlasov‐Poisson plasma in an infinitely long cylinder

We consider the two‐dimensional Vlasov‐Poisson system to model a two‐component plasma whose distribution function is constant with respect to the third space dimension. First, we show how this two‐dimensional Vlasov‐Poisson system can be derived from the full three‐dimensional model. The existence of compactly supported steady states with vanishing electric potential in a three‐dimensional setting has already been investigated in the literature. We show that these results can easily be adapted to the two‐dimensional system. However, our main result is to prove the existence of compactly supported steady states even with a nontrivial self‐consistent electric potential.     

Global existence of smooth solutions to the vlasov poisson system in three dimensions

Recently Plaffelmoser has shown that solutions of the Vlasov–Poisson system in three dimensions remain smooth for all time. This paper establish the same existence theorem by a simpler method     

The Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck equation in an interval with kinetic absorbing boundary conditions

We study the initial–boundary value problem for the Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck equations in an interval with absorbing boundary conditions. We first prove the existence of weak solutions of the linearized equation in an interval with absorbing boundary conditions. Moreover, the weak solution converges to zero exponentially in time. Then we extend the above results to the fully nonlinear Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck equations in an interval with absorbing boundary conditions; the existence and the longtime behavior of weak solutions. Finally, we prove that the weak solution is actually a classical solution by showing the hypoellipticity of the solution away from the grazing set and the Hölder continuity of the solution up to the grazing set.     

Existence of stationary,collisionless plasmas in bounded domains

We consider a collisionless plasma, which consists of electrons and positively charged ions and is confined to a bounded domain in ?³. The distribution functions of the particles are assumed to satisfy specular reflections on the boundary of the domain and the boundary is assumed to be perfectly conducting. We establish the existence of stationary plasmas in the non-relativistic, electrostatic case described by the Vlasov–Poisson system as well as in the relativistic, electrodynamic case described by the relativistic Vlasov–Maxwell system.     

Global weak solutions for the initial–boundary-value problems Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck System

This work is devoted to prove the existence of weak solutions of the kinetic Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck system in bounded domains for attractive or repulsive forces. Absorbing and reflection-type boundary conditions are considered for the kinetic equation and zero values for the potential on the boundary. The existence of weak solutions is proved for bounded and integrable initial and boundary data with finite energy. The main difficulty of this problem is to obtain an existence theory for the linear equation. This fact is analysed using a variational technique and the theory of elliptic–parabolic equations of second order. The proof of existence for the initial–boundary value problems is carried out following a procedure of regularization and linearization of the problem. © 1998 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart—John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gravitational Collapse and the Vlasov–Poisson System

A self-gravitating homogeneous ball of a fluid with pressure zero where the fluid particles are initially at rest collapses to a point in finite time. We prove that this gravitational collapse can be approximated arbitrarily closely by suitable solutions of the Vlasov–Poisson system which are known to exist globally in time.     

Vlasov equilibria: Varying the temperature or the density distributions

Stationary selfconsistent solutions of the Vlasov–Maxwell system in a magnetized inhomogeneous plasma (so called Vlasov equilibria) provide the natural starting point for the investigation of plasma stability and of the nonlinear development of plasma instabilities in collisionless or weakly collisional regimes. In view of the different mechanisms that drive these instabilities, we discuss Vlasov equilibria with both density and temperature gradients.     

Decay in time for a one‐dimensional two‐component plasma

The motion of a collisionless plasma is described by the Vlasov–Poisson (VP) system, or in the presence of large velocities, the relativistic VP system. Both systems are considered in one space and one momentum dimension, with two species of oppositely charged particles. A new identity is derived for both systems and is used to study the behavior of solutions for large times. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long-time behaviour for solutions of the Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck equation

We study the long-time behaviour of solutions of the Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck equation for initial data small enough and satisfying some suitable integrability conditions. Our analysis relies on the study of the linearized problems with bounded potentials decaying fast enough for large times. We obtain global bounds in time for the fundamental solutions of such problems and their derivatives. This allows to get sharp bounds for the decay of the difference between the solutions of the Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck equation and the solution of the free equation with the same initial data. Thanks to these bounds, we get an explicit form for the second term in the asymptotic expansion of the solutions for large times. © 1998 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart—John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stationary Spherically Symmetric Solutions of the Vlasov–Poisson System in the Three-Dimensional Case

Doklady Mathematics - We consider the three-dimensional stationary Vlasov–Poisson system of equations with respect to the distribution function of the gravitating matter $$f =...     

Local existence for the one‐dimensional Vlasov–Poisson system with infinite mass

A collisionless plasma is modelled by the Vlasov–Poisson system in one dimension. We consider the situation in which mobile negative ions balance a fixed background of positive charge, which is independent of space and time, as ∣x∣ → ∞. Thus, the total positive charge and the total negative charge are both infinite. Smooth solutions with appropriate asymptotic behaviour are shown to exist locally in time, and criteria for the continuation of these solutions are established. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Child–Langmuir Asymptotics of the Vlasov–Poisson Equation for Cylindrically or Spherically Symmetric Diodes Part 1: Statement of the Problem and Basic Estimates

The Child–Langmuir asymptotics of the Vlasov–Poisson system provides a model for vacuum diodes which operate under large biases. In these conditions the energy of the injected particles at the cathode is very small compared with the applied external bias. From the mathematical view point, this leads to an interesting and non-standard asymptotic problem for the Vlasov–Poisson equation, which has already been investigated in the one-dimensional Cartesian case, in [7]. The purpose of this paper is to extend the analysis to the cylindrically or spherically symmetric case. Surprisingly, the behaviour of the solutions of the model is somehow different than in the Cartesian case. This feature had not been noticed by the physicists before. Furthermore, the mathematical analysis is much more involved than in [7] because of the geometrical effects, and the techniques that are used are quite different. They mainly rely on the use of supersolutions in the spirit of [18, 19]. This work is divided in two parts. In this first part, we state the problem and establish the basic estimates which are needed for the asymptotic analysis.