Diocotron instability in ultracold plasma.

Vikhrov, E V; Zelener, B B; Zelener, B V · Phys Rev E · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We present the results of the molecular dynamics simulation of ultracold Xe plasma in constant homogeneous crossed electric and magnetic fields. A Simulation shows that there are two electron loss mechanisms. The first one is that the initial electron cloud splits into two lobes. The second one is that electrons leave the plasma as a beam. The beam is deformed due to the diocotron instability and drifts along the [E×B] direction with a constant velocity. A qualitative analysis of the conditions for observing the two mechanisms is provided. The result obtained may be of interest for electron microscopy.