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Single-particle velocity distributions of collisionless, steady-state plasmas must follow superstatistics
Sergio Davis1,2, Gonzalo Avaria1,2, Biswajit Bora1,2
1Comisión Chilena de Energía Nuclear, Casilla 188-D, Santiago, Chile.
Abstract:
The correct modeling of velocity distribution functions for particles in steady-state plasmas is a central element in the study of nuclear fusion and also in the description of space plasmas. In this paper, a statistical mechanical formalism for the description of collisionless plasmas in a steady state is presented, based solely on the application of the rules of probability and not relying on the concept of entropy. Beck and Cohen's superstatistical framework [Beck and Cohen, Physica A 322, 267 (2003)PHYADX0378-437110.1016/S0378-4371(03)00019-0] is recovered as a limiting case, and a "microscopic" definition of inverse temperature β is given. Nonextensivity is not invoked a priori but enters the picture only through the analysis of correlations between parts of the system.
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