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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Non-equilibrium Microwave Plasma for Efficient High Temperature Chemistry
Published on: August 1, 2017
Hydrodynamic relaxation of an electron plasma to a near-maximum entropy state
D J Rodgers1, S Servidio, W H Matthaeus
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA.
Abstract:
Dynamical relaxation of a pure electron plasma in a Malmberg-Penning trap is studied, comparing experiments, numerical simulations and statistical theories of weakly dissipative two-dimensional (2D) turbulence. Simulations confirm that the dynamics are approximated well by a 2D hydrodynamic model. Statistical analysis favors a theoretical picture of relaxation to a near-maximum entropy state with constrained energy, circulation, and angular momentum. This provides evidence that 2D electron fluid relaxation in a turbulent regime is governed by principles of maximum entropy.
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