Nonlinear regimes of the electron cyclotron drift instability in Vlasov simulations

Abstract

We report on a novel investigation of the nonlinear regime of the electron cyclotron drift instability, using a grid-based Vlasov simulation. It is shown that the instability occurs as a series of cyclotron resonances with the electron beam mode due to the $E\times B$ drift. In the nonlinear regime, we observe condensation of fluctuations energy toward the lowest resonance mode and below, i.e., an inverse energy cascade. It is shown that the characteristics of the nonlinear saturation state remain far from the ion-sound regime.

References in corpus (6)

• Perspectives on Physics of ExB Discharges Relevant to Plasma Propulsion and Similar Technologies
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• The effect of alternative propellants on the electron drift instability in Hall-effect thrusters: Insight from 2D Particle-In-Cell simulations
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Cited by in corpus (1)

• The electron cyclotron drift instability: a comparison of particle-in-cell and continuum Vlasov simulations