Abstract
It is shown that ion acoustic waves in plasmas with electron drift become unstable due to the closure of plasma current in the chamber wall. Such unstable modes may enhance both near-wall conductivity and turbulent electron transport in plasma devices with electron drift and unmagnetized ions. It is shown that the instability is sensitive to the wall material: a high value of the dielectric permittivity (such as in metal walls) reduces the mode growth rate by an order of magnitude but does not eliminate the instability completely.
- Received 4 May 2013
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.115002
© 2013 American Physical Society