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Interchange Instability and Transport in Matter-Antimatter Plasmas
Alexander Kendl1, Gregor Danler1, Matthias Wiesenberger1
1Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstrasse 25, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Physical Review Letters
|June 24, 2017
Summary
Electron-positron plasmas in magnetic fields experience interchange instability. New scaling relations predict perturbation propagation relevant to transport, verified by simulations for future experiments.
Area of Science:
- Plasma Physics
- Astrophysics
- Fusion Energy
Background:
- Electron-positron plasmas in inhomogeneous magnetic fields are prone to interchange instability and transport.
- Understanding these phenomena is crucial for magnetic confinement fusion and astrophysical plasma studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To deduce scaling relations for density perturbation propagation velocity in isothermal, magnetically confined electron-positron plasmas.
- To investigate damping effects when Debye lengths exceed Larmor radii.
- To generalize the model for other matter-antimatter plasmas.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical deduction of scaling relations for perturbation propagation velocity.
- Nonlinear full-F gyrofluid computations for verification.
- Analysis of results in the context of planned experiments.
Main Results:
- Scaling relations for propagation velocity were deduced, incorporating damping effects.
- The derived relations were successfully verified by nonlinear gyrofluid simulations.
- The model was extended to include magnetized electron-positron-proton-antiproton plasmas.
Conclusions:
- The study provides key insights into transport mechanisms in electron-positron plasmas.
- Results are relevant for upcoming magnetically confined electron-positron plasma experiments.
- Interchange-driven matter-antimatter separation can hinder laboratory magnetic confinement.
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