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Long wavelength ion-acoustic waves in a magneto-plasma in a gravitational field

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2009

C. H. Liu
Affiliation:
Ionosphere Radio Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801

Abstract

Ion-acoustic waves propagating in a collision-free, gravity-supported plasma in a static magnetic field are studied with a linearized Vlasov equation. The dispersion relation is derived in the limit of vanishing electron to ion mass ratio and wavelength much larger than the Debye length. From this dispersion relation it is shown that the well-known fluid dynamic steepening tendency of waves propagating in the direction of decreasing density is competing with the effect of Landau damping. Depending on the ratio of electron and ion temperatures, the direction of propagation and the strength of the static magnetic field, waves of wavelengths of the order of the scale height or even greater are shown to be damped. Several special cases are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1970

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References

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