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Heat Flux Dependence of Ambipolar Potential and Plasma Profile in a Long Mean‐Free‐Path Plasma Along Non‐Uniform Open Magnetic Field Lines
Author(s) -
Guo Z.,
Tang X.Z.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
contributions to plasma physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.531
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1521-3986
pISSN - 0863-1042
DOI - 10.1002/ctpp.201210043
Subject(s) - ambipolar diffusion , mean free path , plasma , heat flux , physics , magnetic field , condensed matter physics , flux (metallurgy) , perpendicular , convection , materials science , thermodynamics , heat transfer , optics , nuclear physics , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , scattering , metallurgy
Parallel transport along an open magnetic field line produces and sustains temperature anisotropy for a long mean‐free‐path plasma. The parallel variation of ambipolar potential (Φ) and plasma profiles such as density ( n ), parallel and perpendicular temperature ( T ‖ and T ⊥ ), and parallel flow ( u ), is found to be critically dependent on the two distinct components of the parallel heat flux, q n and q s . Both their profile ( q n /B and q s /B 2 ) and the upstream values of the ratio of the conductive and convective thermal flux ( q n /nuT ‖ and q s /nuT ⊥ ) provide the controlling physics, in addition to B modulation (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)