U NIVERSITY OF M ARYLAND B ALTIMORE C OUNTY

D EPARTMENT OF M ECHANICAL E NGINEERING

ENME 815 Fundamentals and Applications of Plasma Physics

Assignment 4
Due: November 4, 2014, no later than 10:00 am.
Solutions should be compiled in a single pdf file and uploaded to Blackboard on or before the
date and time specified above. Digitized (scanned) hand-written notes are acceptable. All
solutions and derivations should be clearly laid out, and plots and numerical results should
have their axes labeled. Open book and notes, but no collaboration is allowed.

1 S INGLE PARTICLE M OTION

A charged particle moves in a magnetic field
B=

1
(r, z, t )
2

(1.1)

where

2
= B mi n r 2 1 + 2 4
+1

(1.2)

and
=

z
L(t )

(1.3)

1. Evaluate the flux derivatives to find the vector components of B explicitly and give the
maximum and minimum values of B at the axis. Note that the minimum occurs at
z = 0. Also note that is the azimuthal component in cylindrical coordinates.
2. Assuming = 5, B mi n = 0.1, and L[t ] = 10.25t , plot B z at the axis in the range {L[0], L[0]}
and t = 0.
3. Repeat the plot above, but for t = 1.
4. The moving mirror field induces an electric field that must be taken into account in the
particles dynamics. Use the integral form of Faradays Law,
I
d
(1.4)
E dl =
dt
where
=

2 Z a

Z
0

B z r d r d .

(1.5)

Create a contour plot of in the z range {1.2L[0], 1.2L[0]}, and the a range {1.2, 1.2},
and t = 0. Your plot should contain 20 contours. You may integrate numerically, but
make sure you show the integration code or commands.

5. Exploiting symmetry, what is the only component of the E field that is not zero? Show
that this equals

1 d
2a d t

(1.6)

6. Convert your expressions to cartesian coordinates: B x = B r C os[], B y = Si n[], where

p
= Ar cTan(y/x) and r = x 2 + y 2 . What are the cartesian components of the electric
field component found above? Be careful as these are not the same as B r and B z . Draw
a diagram indicating the direction of the E field component, and use that to deduce the
cartesian components.
7. Write down the three components of the Lorentz equation in cartesian coordinates.
8. Solve the equations numerically using the following parameters:
m = 100 1.672 1027
q = 1.602 1019
a = 0.3
v o = 5 103
v o = 4 102

(1.7)

xo = a
y o = 0.001
z o = 0.1
Integrate for at least up to t = 0.2. Also, in the E component equation, use a for the
radial component, and L[t ] for the z component.
9. What are the cyclotron frequencies at the mirror minimum and maxima? (Depending
on the numerical solver that you use, you may use these to guide you in choosing an
integration time step above.)
10. Is the mirror traping condition satisfied at t = 0 for above v o and v o ? Show your
calculation of the inequality.
11. Plot the z component of the particle motion in time. At what time does the particle
leave the mirror?
12. Create a 2D parametric plot of the x and y components of the motion up to t = 103 .
13. Create a 2D parametric plot of the x and y components of the motion up to t = 2.8
101 . What type of drift is this? Is this a convervative system?
14. Create a 3D parametric plot for the (x, y, z) components of the particle motion, up to
the point where the particle escapes.

15. If we insert many particles, some with +q and some with q (always keeping quasineutrality) they drift in different directions. What is the sense of the current that is created
from these drifts? Is the magnetic field created by this current diamagnetic (oposes the
existing field) or paramagnetic (adds to the existing field)?