Growth and Saturation of the Electron Drift Instability in a Crossed Field Plasma

Zachariah A. Brown and Benjamin A. Jorns
Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 115101 – Published 13 March 2023

Abstract

The linear growth and nonlinear energy transfer of the electron drift instability (EDI) are experimentally measured in the plume of a low-temperature, Hall effect discharge. A frequency-based bispectral analysis technique applied to fast ion density fluctuation measurements shows a growth rate function that is qualitatively similar to predictions from the linear instability dispersion relation, but an order of magnitude smaller. Calculation of the nonlinear transfer function indicates multiple three-wave interactions between high-frequency resonances of the instability in addition to an inverse energy cascade toward lower-frequency modes. These results are discussed in the context of recent theoretical, numerical, and experimental efforts on the EDI in Hall effect discharges and how the EDI may impact anomalous cross field transport.

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  • Received 30 March 2022
  • Revised 15 September 2022
  • Accepted 3 February 2023
  • Corrected 23 May 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.115101

© 2023 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Plasma Physics

Corrections

23 May 2023

Correction: The omission of a funding source from the first sentence of the acknowledgments has been fixed.

Authors & Affiliations

Zachariah A. Brown* and Benjamin A. Jorns

  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA

  • *brownzac@umich.edu

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Issue

Vol. 130, Iss. 11 — 17 March 2023

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