Instability of Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Harmonic Waves in Plasmas

The stability of electromagnetic ion cyclotron harmonic waves propagating normal to an external magnetic field is studied for plasmas whose ions possess loss cone type velocity distributions. It is found that, if the ions are stationary, no instability develops except in the extreme case when the ratio of parallel to perpendicular "temperatures" of the ions is of the order mi/me, where mi and me are the ion and electron masses respectively. However, for the case of two counterstreaming ion beams in a neutralizing background of electrons, instability at zero frequency and near the first several ion cyclotron harmonics can occur if the streaming velocity is of the order of the electron thermal speed.     

Instability Entanglement in the Electron Cyclotron Maser

Investigation of absolute instability (AI) and convective instability (CI) of the electron cyclotron maser has independently led to the birth of gyrotron oscillators and amplifiers. Here, it is demonstrated that these instabilities can form a cooperative relationship owing to the nonlinear behavior of the stimulated electron beam. The CI can be induced in a zero-drive system with the assistance of AI, and the ohmic losses of all the excited waves inside the system are greatly reduced, which is called “instability entanglement” here. According to the theoretical and experimental study of a 167/330 GHz gyrotron, when instability entanglement occurs, the ohmic dissipation decreases to one-ninth of the AI-only condition, and the output power is enhanced by 20%. This discovery is promising for surpassing the ceiling of output power and frequency of gyrodevices placed by ohmic losses.     

Gyrokinetics of Coaxial-Cavity Electron Cyclotron Maser

Based on the gyrokinetics of free-electron masers, the energy-transfer rate and starting current are derived for a coaxial-cavity electron cyclotron maser (gyrotron oscillator) with the misalignment of the inner-rod axis to the outer-cavity axis taken into account. The effect of the finite cavity length is included in the derivation. The stable term of the instability which results from the contribution of the guiding-center distribution is of significance, although it is usually neglected in a cylindrical-cavity gyrotron. It is found that the structure misalignment has more serious influence on the performance of the coaxial cavity gyrotron than the beam misalignment.     

Bounce-averaged Pitch-angle Diffusion by Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves in Multi-ion Plasmas

We present a study on the gyroresonant interaction particles in multi-ion （H^＋, He^＋, and O^＋） plasmas between electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves and ring current We provide a first evaluation of the bounce-averaged pitch angle diffusion coefficient 〈Dαα〉 for three typical energies of 50, 100 and 150keV at L ≈ 3.5, the heart of the symmetrical ring current. We show that in the H^＋-band and He^＋-band, 〈Dαα〉 can approach - 10^-4 s^-1 for ion H^＋, and - 5 × 10^-5 s^-1 /or ion He^＋; meanwhile, in the O^＋-band, 〈Dαα〉 can reach - 10^-5 s^-1 for ions He^＋ and O^＋. The results above show that the EMIC wave can efficiently produce precipitation loss of energetic （- 100 keV） ions （H^＋, He^＋ and even O^＋）, and such a wave tends to be a serious candidate responsible for the ring current decay.     

Nonsymmetric Whistler Waves Guided by Cylindrical Ducts with Enhanced Plasma Density

We study the guided propagation of whistler waves whose fields depend on the azimuthal angle in cylindrical plasma-waveguide channels (density ducts) aligned with an external magnetic field and surrounded by a uniform magnetoplasma. The main attention is paid to ducts with enhanced plasma density. It is shown that, under certain conditions, such ducts are capable of guiding proper (eigen) modes and improper leaky modes. We present the results of analysis of the dispersion properties and field structures of nonsymmetric modes guided by cylindrical ducts in the whistler frequency range.     

Evolution of Ring Current Protons Induced by Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves

We investigate the evolution of the phase space density （PSD） of ring current protons induced by electromagnetic ion cyclotron （EMIC） waves at the location L=3.5, calculate the diffusion coefficients in pitch angle and momentum, and solve the standard two-dimensional Fokker-Planck diffusion equation. The pitch angle diffusion coefficient is found to be larger than the momentum diffusion coefficient by a factor of about 103 or above at lower pitch angles. We show that EMIC waves can produce efficient pitch angle scattering of energetic （- 100 keV） protons, yielding a rapid decrement in PSD, typically by a factor of - 10 within a few hours, consistent with observational data. This result further supports previous findings that wave-particle interaction is responsible for the rapid ring current decay.     

Radiation Spectrum of an Electron Cyclotron Maser

We consider generation of electromagnetic radiation at the electron cyclotron harmonics by energetic-electron beams having the mean momentum parallel, transverse, or oblique to the external magnetic field. This process is most efficient if the characteristic transverse momentum is sufficiently large. The radiation spectrum of the beam moving exactly along the magnetic field is closest to the equidistant one. The angle between the direction of the maximum emission and the magnetic field varies from 70^° for the field-aligned beam to 90^° for the beam whose characteristic momentum is transverse to the magnetic field. In fairly strong magnetic fields, i.e., for _Be >_pe, where _Be and _pe are the electron cyclotron and plasma frequencies, respectively, the radiation is maximum at low cyclotron harmonics and the second harmonic dominates. In the weaker fields (_Be < _pe), higher harmonics, up to fifth or sixth, are generated. Both wave modes are generated, but generation of the ordinary waves is far less efficient than that of the extraordinary waves under the same conditions.     

Electromagnetic Forces on Plasma Particles in the Presence of Resonant and Nonresonant Plasma Turbulence

Nonlinear forces on plasma particles in the presence of a test nonresonant wave and resonant plasma wave turbulence are calculated. The important feature of the considered nonlinear effect is that the forces due to the nonresonant test wave act on the plasma particles in the absence of linear and nonlinear resonances between the wave and the particles. Although in a closed plasma-wave system the process is balanced by the quasilinear interaction between the plasma resonant turbulence and plasma particles (leading to nonstationarity and inhomogeneity of the system), in open systems the effect can be significant.     

Experimental Examination of Gyrokinetics of Electron Cyclotron Maser

In this paper the linear and quasi-linear kinetic theories of the electron cyclotron maser are introduced and experimantal examination is made. It is indicated that the transverse momentum spread of the electron beam has critical value; as it grows upto the critical value in the process of the beam-wave interaction, the electron cyclotron maser runs to saturation. Comparison shows good agreement between the theories and a typical experiment.     

Stimulated Brillouin Scattering of Whistler Waves by Electron-Acoustic Wave in a Two-Electron Temperature Plasma

Stimulated Brillouin Scattering has been investigated in a two-electron-temperature plasma and it is found that the growth rate can be controlled by injecting hot electrons in the plasma. For typical values of the magnetosphere plasmas the values of growth rates for different concentrations of hot to cold alectrons are calculated.     

等离子体湍流理论研究的最新进展

评述和分析了磁约束核聚变理论研究、数值模拟和实验研究等方面最近几年共同关心的一个重要问题——寻找托卡马克等离子体湍流中的带状剪切流（zonal flows）。简要介绍了作者最近对电阻性-重力模湍流中的带状剪切流的研究结果。 Progress of the research on the zonal flows in tokamak plasma turbulence is surveyed, especially it is reviewed that the zonal flows observed in the experiments and numerical simulations on atmosphere turbulence and ocean turbulence and the discovery of H-mode in tokamak experiments how lead the researchers in magnetic confinement fusion community to find out the existence of the zonal flow in tokamak plasma turbulence and subsequently give the experimental verification of its existence. Finally, the results of our research on zonal flow generation and evolution in resistive-g mode turbulence are presented in brief.     

Feedback in Plasma Maser

Physics of Wave Phenomena - A change in the operation mode of a plasma maser with a pulse duration of 40 ns from a noise amplifier to a feedback self-oscillator at a power level of up to 10 MW has...     

Resonances,Absorption and Linear Excitation of Cyclotron Harmonic Waves in a Discharge Plasma

Standing cyclotron harmonic waves below the second harmonic are observed using the noise radiation of a mercury discharge tube at 1465 MHz. From the positions of the Buchsbaum-Hasegawa resonances the density profile and the electron temperature are derived, these parameters agree quite well with the behaviour of the collision-free, magnetized plasma column. A onedimensional model applicable to our waveguide geometry is developed taking into account linear excitation of cyclotron harmonic waves by a quasistationary external field in a bounded plasma. Absorption and excitation are controlled by the scale length L₁ at the hybrid point and a coupling length l_c, introduced by Eq. (20); the electron gyration radius r_c, scale length L₁, coupling length l_c, and slab thickness 2a obeying the relation r_c?l_c?L₁?2a. The main absorption is caused by enhanced collisional damping at the upper hybrid region and only a small fraction being dissipated in the wave mode, though its field strength is large compared with that at the plasma boundary (E_W/E(a) ≈ 6). An estimation of the mean field strength within the coupling region shows, that such a low power as 1 mW/cm² absorbed in the hybrid region may produce fieldstrength exceeding the typical threshold values for non-linear excitation mechanism.     

Nonlinear Investigation of a Coaxial-Waveguide Cyclotron Autoresonance Maser Amplifier

A nonlinear approach is presented to simulate the coaxial-waveguide cyclotron autoresonance maser (CARM) amplifier. Simulation shows an interesting result that the efficiency of a coaxial-waveguide CARM amplifier may be increased from 7.5% to 33.9% by tapering the magnetic field.     

Finite Temperature and Wall Effects on the Absorption of Electron Cyclotron Waves in an EBT Plasma

The absorption of electron cyclotron waves propagating along an externally applied magnetic field in a uniform plasma surrounded by a cylindrical metallic cavity wall is studied. In the model, the cavity wall, the vacuum-plasma interface, and the effects of finite electron temperature are considered, and the dispersion relation for the wave propagation is derived. The results are then applied to the ELMO Bumpy Torus (EBT-I) plasma, and the propagation characteristics are computed. The wave absorption in the ordinary mode is found to be a result of the wall effects, which cannot be predicted with the infinite plasma theory. The loaded quality factor QL is also estimated from the model to be about 14, which is in good agreement with the experimentally observed value.     

Resonant Scattering of Relativistic Outer Zone Electrons by Plasmaspheric Plume Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron Waves

The bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck equation is solved to study the relativistic electron phase space density （PSD） evolution in the outer radiation belt due to resonant interactions with plasmaspheric plume electromagnetic ion cyclotron （EMIC） waves. It is found that the PSDs of relativistic electrons can be depleted by 1-3 orders of magnitude in 5h, supporting the previous finding that resonant interactions with EMIC waves may account for the frequently observed relativistic electron flux dropouts in the outer radiation belt during the main phase of a storm. The significant precipitation loss of ~MeV electrons is primarily induced by the EMIC waves in H＋ and He＋ bands. The rapid remove of highly relativistic electrons （〉5MeV） is mainly driven by the EMIC waves in O＋ band at lower pitch-angles, as well as the EMIC waves in H＋ and He＋ bands at larger pitch-angles. Moreover, a stronger depletion of relativistic electrons is found to occur over a wider pitch angle range when EMIC waves are centering relatively higher in the band.     

Nonplanar Ion Acoustic Solitary Waves in a Two-Electron Temperature Plasma

Linear and non-linear properties of ion acoustic wave （IAW） propagating in a two-electron temperature plasma are investigated from both analytical and numerical perspectives by employing the fluid theory. A one-dimensional modified Korteweg de Vries equation is derived for the IAW using the reductive perturbative technique in a nonplanar geometry. It is observed that the ion acoustic soliton in a two-temperature plasma admits rarefactive （dip like） solitons. In the limit that the cold electron population goes to zero, it is observed that the ion acoustic soliton yields compressive （hump like） solitons. The variation of the ion acoustic soliton with different plasma parameters is also shown. The present investigation may be beneficial to explain some aspects of ion acoustic rarefactive solitary structures observed in space environments where two-electron temperature plasmas have been observed.     

Parametric Instability of Surface Waves on the Second Harmonic of Electron Cyclotron Frequency in a Plasma Layer

The parametric instability of surface waves on the second harmonic of electron cyclotron frequency (SWCF) in a plasma filled dielectric wave guide is examined in a kinetic approximation. The studied surface waves are extraordinary polarized modes and propagate across the external steady magnetic field. The amplitude of the electrical pump wave is assumed to be small. Simple expressions for increments of the parametric instability of the SWCF are calculated. The otained results can be used in controlled fusion researches in order to avoid undesirable regimes of plasma periphery heating in that fusion devices which use the resonance electron cyclotron heating method.