Simulation of Electrostatic Modes in a Magnetoplasma with Transverse Inhomogeneous Electric Field

摘要

Ion cyclotron turbulence has been observed with shocks and double layers in the magnetosphere where strongly localized electric fields perpendicular to the magnetic field are present. Theoretical analysis suggests that electrostatic waves with frequency of the order of the ion cyclotron frequency can be destabilized due to the coupling of regions of positive and negative energy ion waves. The nonlocal theory for a smooth profile of transverse inhomogeneous electric fields shows that localized ion waves grow in the region where the electric fields are present. Using a spatially two-dimensional electrostatic code, we investigate this instability in plasma conditions characterized by a localized transverse electric field of width L <