Chapter 7

Electrostatic Waves and Instabilities

7.1 Introduction
In Chapter 6, the dispersion relation for general waves, both electromagnetic and electorstatic, in
a uniform plasma has been formulated. The reader may have noticed that no explicit use has been
made of the Gauss law for longitudinal electric eld,
\ E = 4j, (7.1)
where j is the charge density. The electric eld in the Faradays law,
\E =
1
c
0B
0t
, (7.2)
is evidently transverse, since the longitudinal component satises, by denition,
\E
1
= 0. (7.3)
In the expansion of
\\E = \\ E\
2
E, (7.4)
the longitudinal component indeed vanishes identically. Therefore, longitudinal waves, or often
called electrostatic waves, should be treated separately using the Gauss law in Eq. (7.1).
1
Since
\ (\B) =
1
c
\ D =
1
c
\
_

" E
_
= 0, (7.5)
the dispersion relation of electrostatic waves characterized by E = \c = ikc, where c is the
scalar potential, can readily be found as
k
$
k =

i)
/
i
/
)
-
i)
= 0, (7.6)
where -
i)
is the component of the dielectric tensor calculated in Chapter 6. In this Chapter,
electrostatic waves and instabilities in a uniform plasma will be discussed. Low frequency drift
type modes in a nonuniform plasma have already been analyzed in Chapter 3.
7.2 Dispersion Relation
For electrostatic modes, it is not necessary to use the whole Maxwells equations, for the magnetic
perturbation is assumed to be negligible. The electric eld associated with electrostatic modes is
curl free and description in terms of the scalar potential
E = \c, (7.7)
will suce. The linearized Vlasov equation with ignorable magnetic perturbation is
d)
dt

c
:
\c
0)
0
0v
= 0, (7.8)
where
d
dt
=
0
0t
v \
c
:
(v B
0
)
0
0v
. (7.9)
We assume a uniform plasma conned by a uniform magnetic eld in the .direction. Then, Eq.
(7.8) can be readily integrated as shown in Chapter 6,
) =
c
:
1

a=1
J
2
a
(A)
. /
k

k
:\
_
:\

?
0)
0
0
?
/
k
0)
0
0
k
_
c. (7.10)
2
Substituting this into the Poissons equation
\
2
c = 4c
_
()
i
)
c
)dv, (7.11)
we obtain the following dispersion relation,
/
2

c
.
2
jc

a
_
J
2
a
(A
c
)
. /
k

k
:\
c
_
:\

?
0)
0
0
?
/
k
0)
0
0
k
_
dv = 0. (7.12)
For isotropic Maxwellian distribution, )
0
= )
A
(
2
), the perturbed distribution function reduces to
) =
cc
T
)
A

1

a=1
.
. /
k

k
:\
J
2
a
(A)
cc
T
)
A
, (7.13)
where use has been made of the following identity,
1

a=1
J
2
a
(A) = 1.
In this case, the dispersion relation becomes
/
2

c=c,i
/
2
1c
_
1
c0

a
I
a
(/
c
)7(
ca
)
_
= 0, (7.14)
where
/
2
1c
=
4:
0
c
2
T
c
, I
a
(/) = c
b
1
a
(/),
ca
=
. :\
c
/
k

Tc
, (7.15)
and 7() is the plasma dispersion function.
It is noted that the dispersion relation can alternatively be found from
k

" k = /
i
/
)
c
i)
= 0, (7.16)
as explained in the Introduction. For the geometry assumed in Fig. 7.1, k = /
?
e
a
/
k
e
:
. Therefore,
k

" k = /
i
/
)
c
i)
= 0 reduces to
/
2
?
c
aa
/
?
/
k
(c
a:
c
:a
) /
2
k
c
::
= 0, (7.17)
3
where
c
aa
= 1

c
.
2
jc
.
2

a
_

?
(:,A
c
)
2
J
2
a
(A
c
)
. /
k

k
:\
ldv, (7.18)
c
a:
=

c
.
2
jc
.
2

a
_

?
(:,A
c
)J
2
a
(A
c
)
. /
k

k
:\
\dv, (7.19)
c
:a
=

c
.
2
jc
.
2

a
_

k
(:,A
c
)J
2
a
(A
c
)
. /
k

k
:\
ldv, (7.20)
c
::
= 1

c
.
2
jc
.
2

a
_

k
J
2
a
(A
c
)
. /
k

k
:\
\dv, (7.21)
with
l = (. /
k

k
)
0)
0c
0
?

?
/
k
0)
0c
0
k
, (7.22)
\ = (. :\
c
)
0)
0c
0
k

:\
c

?
0)
0c
0
?
. (7.23)
We see that Eq. (7.17) is indeed identical to Eq. (7.12).
For electrostatic modes in an unmagnetized plasma (B
0
= 0), the original Vlasov equation is
d)
dt

c
:
\c
0)
0
0v
= 0, (7.24)
where
d
dt
=
0
0t
v \. (7.25)
If )
0
is isotropic Maxwellian, the dispersion relation reduces to
/
2

c=c,i
/
2
1c
[1
c
7(
c
)[ = 0, (7.26)
where

c
=
.
/
Tc
. (7.27)
7.3 Electron Plasma Mode
The electron plasma mode (or often called Langmuir mode) can easily be excited by a tenuous
electron beam through beam-plasma interaction. The mode has a frequency close to the electron
4
plasma frequency . .
jc
. If the electron distribution function is Maxwellian without any beam
components, the mode is Landau damped by electrons through resonant wave-particle interaction.
The dispersion relation can be found from Eq. (7.26) by ignoring the ion term,
2/
2
= /
2
1c
7
0
(
c
), (7.28)
where 7
0
() is the derivative of the plasma dispersion function which satises
7
0
2[1 7()[ = 0. (7.29)
Assuming
c
1 and using the asymptotic form of 7
0
,
7
0
()
1

2

8
2
4
2i
_
c

2
, 1, (7.30)
we nd the mode frequency and damping rate which are valid in long wavelength regime, /
2
/
2
1c
,
.
2
v
.
2
jc

8
2
(/
Tc
)
2
= .
2
jc
8/
2
T
c
:
, (7.31)

.
v

_

_
.
jc
[/[
Tc
_
3
oxp
_

_
.
jc
/
Tc
_
2
_
. (7.32)
This collisionless damping of the electron plasma mode was rst predicted by Landau (1945).
Experimental conrmation of Landau damping was made in the early 1960s.
Intuitively, the physical mechanism of Landau damping can be understood from the unbalance
in the energy exchange between electrons and electric eld. For this purpose, we rewrite the
dispersion relation in the form
/
2
= .
2
jc
_
/
d)
A
d
/ .
d = .
2
jc
/
_
_
_P
_
d)
A
d
/ .
d i
_
d)
A
d
c(/ .)d
_
_
_, (7.33)
where P indicates the principal part of the integral,
P
_
1
1
d =
_
.I0
1
d
_
1
.I+0
d.
5
The principal part in the limit .,/ reduces to
P
_
d)
A
d
/ .
d
/
.
2
.
Therefore, the dispersion relation is
.
2
.
2
jc
i
.
4
jc
/
2
d)
A
d

=.I
.
Assuming . = .
jc
i, [[ .
jc
, we obtain
=

2
.
3
jc
/
2
d)
A
d

=.I
< 0. (7.34)
The damping factor is proportional to the derivative of the distribution function d)
A
,d at
the resonance, = .,/. Electrons having a velocity close the phase velocity .,/ strongly
interact (resonate) with the electric eld because they essentially experience a stationary (dc) eld.
Electrons having a velocity smaller than the phase velocity are continuously accelerated (they are
pushed by the wave) while those with larger velocity are decelerated (they push the wave). If the
electron distribution is Maxwellian, there are more electrons travelling slower than the wave as
illustrated in Fig. 8.1 and the net result is the electrons as a whole gain energy from the wave.
Thus the wave loses energy to the electrons and its amplitude decreases with time. The story
remains unchanged even if the direction of wave propagation is reversed, / < 0. In this case, the
resonance occurs for electrons travelling with a negative velocity close to = .,/ < 0. However,
the sign of function
/
d)
A
d
=
:
T
c
/)
A
< 0,
in the numerator remains unchanged. What matters in the argument of energy unbalance is the
magnitude of the electron velocity and that of the wave phase velocity. Physically, a Maxwellian
distribution has no free energy to excite waves and thus no instabilities (growing modes) are ex-
pected. Any waves in a uniform plasma with Maxwellian velocity distributions of ions and electrons
are damped regardless of the direction of wave propagation. In a nonuniform plasma, the pressure
gradient provides free energy for low frequency modes even if particle distribution is Maxwellian as
we saw in Chapter 3.
6
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Figure 7-1: Dispersion relation of the electron plasma mode. Solid line shows .
v
,.
jc
and dashed
line ,.
jc
as functions of /,/
1c
. (< 0) is the Landau damping rate. The dotted line shows the
frequency based on the approximation in 7.31.
A more detailed explanation for physical mechanism of Landau damping was given by Dawson
who actually evaluated the amount of energy gained (or lost) by the resonant electrons. Let us
consider an electron beam placed in a propagating electric eld described by
1(r, t) = 1
0
c
t
sin(/r .t),
where is the yet unknown damping rate which we seek. The beam density is denoted by and
beam velocity by \. A collection of many such beams constitutes a velocity distribution function
of electrons. From the linearized equation of motion,
_
0
0t
\
0
0r
_
=
c
:
1
0
c
t
sin(/r .t),
with the initial condition (t = 0) = 0,
(r, t) =
c
:
1
0
(/\ .)
2

2
_
(/\ .)
_
c
t
cos(/r .t) cos[/(r \ t)[

_
c
t
sin(/r .t) sin[/(r \ t)[
_
. (7.35)
7
The density perturbation can then be found from the linearized continuity equation,
_
0
0t
\
0
0r
_
: = (\ )
0
0r
. (7.36)
If : = 0 at t = 0, this yields
:(r, t) = (\ )
c1
0
:
_
2/(/\ .)
[(/\ .)
2

2
[
2
_
c
t
sin(/r .t) sin[/(r \ t)[

/[
2
(/\ .)
2
[
[(/\ .)
2

2
[
2
_
c
t
cos(/r .t) cos[/(r \ t)[

/t
(/\ .)
2

2
[ cos[/(r \ t)[ (/\ .) sin[/(r \ t)[[
_
. (7.37)
The kinetic energy density associated with the beam is by denition
l
b
=
1
2
:( :)(\ )
2

1
2
:\
2

1
2
:
2
:\ :. (7.38)
Therefore the change in the beam energy due to the electric eld is
1
2
:
2
:\ :. (7.39)
Substituting and :, and taking the spatial average, we nd the average energy density,
l
b
=
c
2
2:
1
2
0
(\ )
_
(\, t)
(/\ .)
2

2

2/\ (/\ .)(\, t)
[(/\ .)
2

2
[
2

/\ t
(/\ .)
2

2
c
t
sin[(/\ .)t[
_
,
(7.40)
where the function (\, t) is dened by
(\, t) =
c
t
1
2
c
t
cos[(/\ .)t[.
Integrating Eq. (7.40) over the velocity \ yields the total energy,
\ =
_
l
b
d\
=
c
2
4:
1
2
0
_
\
d
d\
(/\ .)
2

2
_
(c
tt
1)
2
4c
tt
sin
2
_
(/\ .)t
2
__
d\, (7.41)
8
where it is noted that
d
d\
1
(/\ .)
2

2
= 2
/(/\ .)
[(/\ .)
2

2
[
2
,
and use has been made of integration by parts. The function
1
(/\ .)
2

2
_
(c
tt
1)
2
4c
tt
sin
2
_
(/\ .)t
2
__
, (7.42)
is sharply peaked at the resonance \ = .,/. Therefore, the integration limits can be extended from
to and the relatively slowly varying function \ (d,d\ ) can be taken out of the integrand.
The result is
\
c
2
4:
1
2
0
d
d\

\ =.I
.
/
.
/
(c
2t
1). (7.43)
Finally, the damping factor can be found from energy conservation principle,
d
dt
(\ \
&
) = 0, (7.44)
where
\
&
=
1
2
0
c
2t
16
.
0
0.
_
1
.
2
jc
.
2
_

.=.pe
=
1
2
0
c
2t
8
, (7.45)
is the wave energy density averaged over one wavelength. Eq. (7.44) yields
=

2
4c
2
:
.
jc
/
2
d
d\

\ =.I
, (7.46)
which agrees with Eq. (7.34).
7.4 Excitation of the Langmuir Mode by a Tenuous Electron Beam
The electron plasma mode can be easily excited by an electron beam through beam-plasma inter-
action. Let us consider a tenuous electron beam with density :
b
and velocity \ injected into a
plasma. The relevant dispersion relation is
2/
2
= /
2
1c
7
0
(
c
) /
2
b
7
0
(
b
), (7.47)
9
where
/
2
b
=
4:
b
c
2
T
b
,
b
=
. /\

Tb
,
Tb
=
_
2T
b
,:.
If the thermal spread of the beam is small and the phase velocity .,/ is much larger than the
electron thermal speed, the arguments
c
and
b
are large and the following dispersion relation
emerges,
1 =
.
2
jc
.
2

.
2
b
(. /\ )
2
, (7.48)
where .
2
b
= 4:
b
c
2
,: is the plasma frequency of the beam electrons. We assume that the beam
electron density :
b
is much smaller than the background electron density :
0
, :
b
:
0
. Then, the
beam term in Eq. (7.48) can be handled perturbatively. Assuming . = .
jc
c /\, [c[ .
jc
,
we obtain
c
3
=
1
2
.
jc
.
2
b
. (7.49)
This has an unstable solution,
c =
1 i
_
8
2
.
0
, at /\ .
jc
(7.50)
where
.
0
=
_
.
jc
.
2
b
2
_
13
=
_
:
b
2:
0
_
13
.
jc
. (7.51)
The strongest interaction between the beam and background electrons occurs at the resonance
/\ = .
jc
at which the beam electrons essentially experience a retarding dc electric eld because
of the Doppler shift. The beam electrons give away energy to the electron plasma wave which in
turn grows exponentially in time with the growth rate

max
=
_
8
2
.
0
=
_
8
2
_
:
b
2:
0
_
13
.
jc
, /\ .
jc
. (7.52)
The growth rate can be a large fraction of the electron plasma frequency even for a low density
beam. The growth rate at arbitrary value of / is qualitatively shown in Fig. 7.2 for the case
:
b
,:
0
= 0.01. The half width of the growth rate prole at the resonance is approximately
^/
_
:
b
:
0
_
13
.
jc
\
.
10
Outside this range, the growth rate is much smaller than the maximum growth rate.
The instability is a typical example of nonresonant (or hydrodynamic) excitation through the
interaction between negative energy wave carried by the beam and positive energy wave (electron
plasma mode). In the absence of background electrons, the dielectric constant associated with the
electron beam is
c
b
= 1
.
2
b
(. /\ )
2
. (7.53)
The wave energy density in a dispersive medium is
l
b
=
1
2
8
0
0.
(.c
b
) =
1
2
8
2..
2
b
(. /\ )
3
. (7.54)
This can be negative if . < /\, that is, if the beam velocity is faster than the wave phase velocity.
This is the familiar Cerenkov condition for emission of electromagnetic waves in a dielectric medium.
The energy associated with the electron plasma mode, c
c
= 1 (.
jc
,.)
2
, is positive denite,
l
c
=
1
2
8
0
0.
(.c
c
) =
1
2
8
(1 1), (7.55)
where one part resides in the electric eld and another one part in the electron kinetic energy.
As the wave amplitude grows, the beam loses its kinetic energy to the electron plasma mode.
One may prematurely conclude that the nonlinear saturation of the instability should occur when
the original beam energy is totally depleted,
1
2
sat
4

1
2
:
b
:\
2
. (7.56)
However, the wave growth ceases well before the depletion because the resonance condition /\ =
.
jc
is violated for a small reduction in the beam velocity, ^\ (:
b
,:
0
)
13
\. Therefore, the wave
energy density at saturation of the beam instability is approximately given by
1
2
sat
8

_
:
b
:
0
_
13
:
b
:\
2
. (7.57)
A more accurate analysis based on beam electron trapping condition yields the same result.
11
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Figure 7-2: Solution of the disperion relation in Eq. (7.48) when :
b
,:
0
= 0.001. j = (.
v
i) ,.
jc
vs. r = /\,.
jc
. The growth rate 10,.
jc
is shown in red. Black lines indicate .
v
,.
jc
.
7.5 Ion Acoustic Mode
The ion acoustic mode is a low frequency electrostatic mode in which both electrons and ions
participate. In a plasma with dominant electron temperature, T
c
T
i
, ion Landau damping is
small and the ion acoustic mode can be excited by a modest electron current. In nonlinear dynamics
of electron plasma mode, the ion acoustic mode plays an important role as well, as briey touched
upon in the preceding Section.
The dispersion relation of the ion acoustic mode is given by
2/
2
= /
2
1c
7
0
(
c
) /
2
1i
7
0
(
i
), (7.58)
where

c
=
. /\
c
/
Tc
,
i
=
.
/
Ti
, (7.59)
with \
c
the average electron drift velocity relative to the ions. If T
c
T
i
, and [
c
[ < 1,
i
1, the
12
following approximate solution emerges,
.
v

_
.
2
ji
1 (/
1c
,/)
2

8T
i
'
/
2
_
12
, (7.60)

.
v
=
_

_
.
v
/
Ti
_
2
_
T
i
T
c
/\
c
.
v
/
Tc

.
v
/
Ti
c
(.rI
Ti
)
2
_
. (7.61)
The necessary condition for instability is /\
c
.
v
(Cerenkov condition). The second exponential
term is due to ion Landau damping which rapidly increases with the ion temperature. When
T
i
T
c
, the critical velocity for the instability found from the dispersion relation, Eq. (7.58), is of
the order of the electron thermal speed as depicted in Fig. 7.3 for the mode (/,/
1c
)
2
= 0.1.
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Figure 7-3: The critical electron drift velocity \
cv
,
Tc
(
Tc
=
_
2T
c
,:
c
) for the ion acoustic insta-
bility in a hydrogen plasma as a function of T
i
,T
c
. For T
i
T
c
, the critical velocity is approximately
equal to the ion acosutic velocity. For T
i
T
c
, it is of the order of the electon thermal velocity.
When T
c
T
i
, the dispersion relation in the long wavelength regime (/ < /
1c
) becomes
. /
_
T
c
'
, / < /
1c
. (7.62)
In this mode, the electron pressure provides the restoring force while ions provide inertia as in
the ordinary sound wave. The wave energy density associated with the ion acoustic mode can be
13
calculated as
l =
1
2
8
.
0c
0.
=
1
2
8
_
1
_
.
ji
.
_
2

_
/
1c
/
_
2
_
, (7.63)
where the dielectric function c is
c = 1
_
.
ji
.
_
2

_
/
1c
/
_
2
. (7.64)
In Eq. (7.63), the energy is shared by the electric eld (1), ion kinetic motion (.
ji
,.)
2
, and electron
thermal potential (/
1c
,/)
2
.
The dispersion relation of the ion acoustic wave can be derived from hydrodynamic equations
as follows. Since the phase velocity of ion acoustic wave is much smaller than the electron thermal
velocity, electrons obey the Boltzmann distribution,
:
0
:
c
= :
0
oxp
_
cc
T
c
_
, (7.65)
where :
c
is the perturbation. For cc T
c
, we nd
:
c
=
cc
T
c
:
0
. (7.66)
The equation of motion for ions is
:
0
'
0
i
0t
= c:
0
0c
0r

0j
i
0r
, (7.67)
where j
i
is ion pressure perturbation which consists of density and ion temperature perturbations,
j
i
= T
i
:
i
:
0
T
0
i
. (7.68)
If the ion temperature is lower than the electron temperature, T
i
< T
c
, the ion pressure perturbation
may be approximated by
j
i

i
T
i
:
i
, (7.69)
where the adiabaticity coecient is
i
8. Then,
:
0
'
0
i
0t
c:
0
0c
0r
8T
i
0:
i
0r
, (7.70)
14
which yields

i
=
/
.:
0
'
(c:
0
c 8T
i
:
i
) . (7.71)
Finally, the ion continuity equation is
0:
i
0t
:
0
0
i
0r
= 0, (7.72)
and the ion density perturbation thus becomes
:
i
=
c/
2
c
'
_
.
2
8
T
i
A
/
2
_:
0
. (7.73)
Substituting :
c
and :
i
into the Poissons equation,
\
2
c = 4c (:
i
:
c
) , (7.74)
we nd
.
2
=
/
2
.
2
ji
/
2
/
2
1c

8T
i
'
/
2
. (7.75)
This is in agreement with the kinetic result in Eq. (7.60).
When the electron drift velocity is larger than the electron thermal velocity, \
Tc
, a strong
electron-ion instability known as the Buneman instability develops. The dispersion relation is
similar to the beam-plasma mode discussed in the preceding Section,
1 =
_
.
ji
.
_
2

.
2
jc
(. /\ )
2
. (7.76)
The maximum growth rate occurs at the resonance /\ .
jc
and the solution for . is given by
. =
1 i
_
8
2
_
:
2'
_
13
.
jc
, /\ .
jc
. (7.77)
The growth rate is quite comparable with the mode frequency in contrast to the case of the beam-
plasma instability in which .
v
.
jc

max
. The nonlinear development of the Buneman in-
stability is therefore expected to be markedly dierent from the case of electron-beam instability.
According to the analysis by Ishihara and Hirose, deviation from the linear stage occurs when the
15
eld energy becomes of the order of
1
2
8

_
:
'
_
13
:
0
:\
2
c
.
The instability continues to grow algebraically, however, and eventual saturation due to electron
trapping occurs at a turbulence level of
1
2
sat
8
0.1 :
0
:\
2
c
,
relatively independent of the ion mass. Large amplitude ion oscillation at the ion plasma frequency
.
ji
has also been predicted in the nal nonlinear stage of the instability. The kinetic energy acquired
by the ions is comparable with the eld energy and ecient ion heating as well as electron heating
should take place.
In the ion acoustic, Buneman and lower hybrid instabilities, electrons are eectively scattered
(heated) by the turbulent electric eld and this collisionless heating process is called turbulent
heating. Plasma temperatures in keV range can easily be achieved by drawing a large current in a
plasma. The eective plasma resistivity can be enhanced by orders of magnitude over the classical
Spitzer resistivity. For application of turbulent heating in toroidal plasmas, the reader is referred
to a review paper by de Kluiver, Perepelkin and Hirose (1991).
7.6 Electrostatic Waves and Instabilities in a Magnetized Plasma
In a plasma conned by a magnetic eld, the cyclotron frequencies of electrons and ions enter
as characteristic frequencies and signicantly modify the dispersion relations of electron and ion
modes. In addition, some new modes appear.
In a cold plasma, the dispersion relation
k

" k = 0, (7.78)
allows simple solutions. Recalling we have assumed / = /
?
c
a
/
k
c
:
and
-
aa
= 1

c
.
2
jc
.
2
\
2
c
, -
::
= 1

c
.
2
jc
.
2
, (7.79)
16
we obtain
/
2
?
_
1

c
.
2
jc
.
2
\
2
c
_
/
2
k
_
1

c
.
2
jc
.
2
_
= 0. (7.80)
If the electrons are strongly magnetized such that \
c
.
jc
, a high frequency solution to the
dispersion relation is
.
/
k
/
.
jc
= .
jc
cos 0,
where
0 = aiccos
_
/
k
/
_
,
is the propagation angle relative to the magnetic eld. The mode is called the magnetized electron
plasma mode. The group velocity is perpendicular to the phase velocity,
d.
d/
=
.
jc
/
sin0 c
0
.
For perpendicular propagation (/
k
= 0), we recover the upper and lower hybrid modes,
. .
l1
=
_
.
2
jc
\
2
c
, . .
11
=
.
ji
_
1 (.
jc
,\
c
)
2
.
We have encountered these modes as the resonance frequencies of electromagnetic modes propagat-
ing perpendicular to the magnetic eld. Resonance is characterized by short wavelengths (/
?
)
which lower the phase velocity well below those characteristic of electromagnetic modes.
Bernstein Modes
In cold plasma approximation, the Larmor radii of electrons and ions are assumed negligibly small
compared with the cross eld wavelength. If this assumption is removed, harmonics of the cyclotron
frequency appear. Physically, the appearance of cyclotron harmonics is due to deformation of the
circular Larmor orbit caused by the waves. Bernstein modes are characterized by pure perpendicular
propagation (/
k
= 0). In this case, both Landau and cyclotron damping disappear and deviation
from Maxwellian velocity distribution may drive such weakly damped modes unstable.
We rst consider the electron Bernstein mode in which ion dynamics can be ignored (. .
ji
).
17
If we assume /
k
= 0 in Eq. (7.26), the plasma dispersion function may be approximated by
7(
ca
) =
1

ca
=
/
k

Tc
. :\
c
,
and we obtain
/
2
?
/
2
1c
_
1
1

a=1
c
Ae
1
a
(`
c
)
.
. :\
c
_
= 0. (7.81)
Noting the identity
c
Ae
1

a=1
1
a
(`
c
) = 1, (7.82)
we can simplify the dispersion relation as
.
2
jc
`
c
1

a=1
c
Ae
1
a
(`
c
)
2:
2
.
2
:
2
\
2
c
= 1. (7.83)
In the long wavelength limit `
c
1, the modied Bessel function 1
a
(`
c
) may be approximated by
1
a
(`
c
)
1
:!
_
`
c
2
_
a
, (7.84)
and Eq. (7.81) becomes
.
2
jc
_
1
.
2
\
2
c

`
c
.
2
(2\
c
)
2

8
8
`
2
c
.
2
(8\
c
)
2

_
= 1. (7.85)
Approximate solutions are
.
_
.
2
jc
\
2
c
, 2\
c
, 8\
c
. . (7.86)
Note that the upper hybrid mode encountered in cold plasma approximation is recovered. In
addition, the cyclotron harmonics appear as undamped modes.
In the opposite limit `
c
1, the asymptotic form of the modied Bessel function is
c
Ae
1
a
(`
c
)
1
_
2`
c
c
a
2
2Ae
, (7.87)
and the dispersion relation becomes
.
2
jc
_
2`
32
c
1

a=1
2:
2
c
a
2
2Ae
.
2
:
2
\
2
c
= 1. (7.88)
18
Solutions are
. :\
c
, : = 1, 2, 8,
For arbitrary value of `
c
, the dispersion relation can only be solved numerically. Fig. 7.4 shows
the mode frequency against the electron nite Larmor radius parameter
_
`
c
= /
?
_
T
c
,:
c
,\
c
for the case .
2
jc
= 4\
2
c
. The upper hybrid frequency is .
l1
=
_
\
c
. The mode frequency below
.
l1
starts o at the cyclotron harmonics and monotonically decreases with /
?
. Above .
l1
, the
frequency remains close to the cyclotron harmonic frequencies and the maximum deviation from
the :th harmonic is approximately given by
^.
.
2
jc
_
2:
2
\
c
.
x
5 4 3 2 1
y
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
Figure 7-4: Electron Bernstein mode when .
jc
= 2\
c
. j = .,\
c
, r = /
?
j
c
.
The ion Bernstein mode can be analyzed in a similar manner. In the frequency regime .
.
jc
, \
c
, the dispersion relation becomes
.
2
ji
`
i
1

a=1
c
A
i
1
a
(`
i
)
2:
2
.
2
:
2
\
2
i
= 1
_
.
jc
\
c
_
2
, (7.89)
19
or
.
2
11
`
i
1

a=1
c
A
i
1
a
(`
i
)
2:
2
.
2
:
2
\
2
i
= 1. (7.90)
Since in usual laboratory plasmas the lower hybrid frequency is close to the ion plasma frequency
which in turn is much higher than the ion cyclotron frequency, the frequency is a monotonically
decreasing function of
_
`
i
= /
?
_
T
i
,:
i
,\
i
in most regions. Fig. 7.5 shows the dispersion relation
of the ion Bernstein mode when .
11
= 10\
i
which corresponds to a somewhat low density plasma.
x
10 8 6 4 2 0
y
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
Figure 7-5: Ion Bernstein modes. j = .,\
i
, r = /
?
j
i
.
Since the frequency domain of the ion Bernstein mode is of order of the ion cyclotron frequency,
slight deviation from pure perpendicular propagation can violate the condition
. /
k

Tc
,
where /
k

Tc
is the electron transit frequency. In the intermediate region such that
/
k

Ti
. /
k

Tc
,
20
electron response becomes adiabatic and the dispersion relation is modied as
.
2
ji
`
i
1

a=1
c
A
i
1
a
(`
i
)
2:
2
.
2
:
2
\
2
i
= 1
_
/
1c
/
_
2
1
_
/
1c
/
?
_
2
, (/
?
/
k
) (7.91)
In this case, the ion cyclotron harmonics are coupled to the ion acoustic mode. Noting
_
/
1c
/
?
_
2
=
T
i
T
c
1
`
i
_
.
ji
\
i
_
2
,
we rewrite Eq. (7.91) as
.
2
ji
`
i
1

a=1
c
A
i
1
a
(`
i
)
2:
2
.
2
:
2
\
2
i
= 1
T
i
T
c
1
`
i
_
.
ji
\
i
_
2
. (7.92)
Fig. 7.6 shows solutions to this dispersion relation when T
c
= 10T
i
and .
ji
= 10\
i
. Note that
the frequency starts o at the ion cyclotron frequency \
i
. Near \
i
, the dispersion relation is well
described by
.
2
\
2
i
/
2
?
c
2
c
,
where c
c
=
_
T
c
,'
i
is the ion acoustic speed. This mode is called the electrostatic ion cyclotron
mode and its dispersion relation has been experimentally observed by DAngelo and Hirose et al.
Loss-Cone Instability in Mirror Magnetic Field
The Bernstein modes are weakly damped because of absence of Landau and cyclotron damping
and thus can become unstable if the velocity distribution function is not Maxwellian. In a mirror
magnetic eld, particle connement exploits two constants of motion,
magnetic dipole moment j =
1
2
:
2
?
(.)
1(.)
= const.
and
energy 1 =
1
2
:
_

2
?
(.)
2
k
(.)
_
= const.
where . indicates the coordinate along the magnetic eld. It can be easily seen that only those
particles satisfying

2
k

2
?
<
1
max
1
min
1
min
21
x
5 4 3 2 1
y
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
Figure 7-6: Coupling between the ion cyclotron harmonic modes and ion acoustic mode. Near
the ion cyclotron frequency \
i
, the dispersion relation is .
2
\
2
i
/
2
?
c
2
c
where c
c
=
_
T
c
,'
i
,
(T
c
T
i
), is the ion acoustic speed. j = .,\
i
, r = /
?
j
c
where j
c
= c
c
,\
i
is the ion acoustic
Larmor radius.
can be conned and those particles with

2
k

2
?

1
max
1
min
1
min
are lost through the throats. Therefore, velocity distribution of plasma particles conned in a mirror
device is inherently non-Maxwellian which may cause plasma instabilities and degrade connement.
The loss-cone distribution is characterized by particle deciency in small perpendicular velocity
region and may be modelled by
q(
?
) =
n
?
)
A
(
2
?
)
where : is an integer and )
A
(
2
?
) is a Maxwellian distribution. When : ,= 0, the derivative
dq(
?
),d
?
can become positive in a region of small velocity which signicantly modies the
dispersion relation of the Bernstein mode. The loss-cone mode had been studied extensively in
the past when fusion research based mirror devices was active.
A simple case which allows analytic treatment is the instability of the magnetized electron
plasma oscillation driven by an ion loss-cone distribution. The mode frequency is assumed to be
22
much higher than the ion cyclotron frequency and the cross-eld wavelength much shorter than the
ion Larmor radius. In this case, the ions are essentially unmagnetized and for nearly perpendicular
propagation in the rdirection, the dispersion relation may be approximated by
1
_
.
jc
\
c
_
2
=
.
2
jc
.
2
_
/
k
/
?
_
2

.
2
ji
/
2
?
_
1
1
1

.
I
?
d
d
a
1(
a
)d
a
,
where
1(
a
) =
_
1
1
q(
?
)d
j
.
As an example, let us consider the following velocity distribution,
q(
?
) =
1

4
Ti

2
?
oxp
_

2
?

2
Ti
_
.
Then,
1(
a
) =
1
_

Ti
_

2
a

2
Ti

1
2
_
oxp
_

2
a

2
Ti
_
,
and the dispersion relation becomes
1
_
.
jc
\
c
_
2
=
.
2
jc
.
2
_
/
k
/
?
_
2

_
/
1i
/
?
_
2

i
_
(1 2
2
i
)7(
i
) 2
i

,
where
i
= .,/
?

Ti
is the argument of the plasma dispersion function 7(
i
). An unstable solution
emerges if
i
1,
. = .
v
i,
where
.
v

/
k
/
?
.
jc
_
1 (.
jc
,\
c
)
2
,

_

2
(/
1i
,/
?
)
2
1 (.
jc
,\
c
)
2
.
2
v
/
?

Ti
.
Note that the distribution 1(
a
) is double-humped and the mechanism of the instability is similar
to that in two-stream instability.
23
Lowerhybrid Instabilities
If a large current ows across an external magnetic eld, the dispersion relation of the Buneman
instability is modied as
1 =
_
.
ji
.
_
2

.
2
jc
(. /\ sin0)
2
cos
2
0
.
2
jc
\
2
c
sin
2
0, (7.93)
where .
11
is the lower hybrid frequency, 0 is the angle between / and 1
0
and the frequency . is
assumed to be in the range \
i
. \
c
(that is, unmagnetized ions and strongly magnetized
electrons). For nearly perpendicular propagation, we have
1 =
_
.
11
.
_
2

'
:
cos
2
0
.
2
11
(. /\ )
2
, (7.94)
where :,' is the electron/ion mass ratio. The maximum growth rate occurs when cos 0
_
:,'
and is given by

max
0.21.
11
. (7.95)
Another lower hybrid instability occurs in the presence of density gradient,
1
.
2
jc
\
2
c
=
_
.
ji
.
_
2

.
2
jc
i
a
[\
c
[ (. /
?
\ sin0)/
?
, (7.96)
where i
a
is the density gradient across the magnetic eld. The instability is known as the lower
hybrid drift mode originally discovered by Mikhailovskii and Tsypin. Kinetic lowerhybrid drift
instability was analyzed by Hirose and Alexe.
24