Plasmas in Nature

A
brief introduc.on to
Plasmas
Vasco Guerra, Hugo Terças
Instituto Superior Técnico
Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear
(N-PRiME and Quantum Plasma Lab)
vguerra@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
hugo.tercas@ulisboa.pt
Since the dawn of Humanity
Men has tried to understand
Plasma Physics...
As perguntas fundamentais
Plasmas in nature
Para que serve um plasma?
99% of the (visible) matter in the universe!

• Stars
• Nebulae
• Solar wind
• Ionosphere
• van Allen belts
• Lightning
• Aurora
The basic questions
Plasmas: o início
• What is plasma?
• How is plasma created?
• Why is plasma interesting?
• What is plasma useful for?
How isAs perguntas fundamentais
plasma created?
Como se forma um plasma?
Quatro estados da matéria... e não quatro
Four states
elementos! or four elements???
How toAs perguntas fundamentais
produce a plasma?
• Increase the temperature

• Use non equilibrium to locally increase ne
- photoionisation
- electric discharges
What is plasma?
O que é um plasma?
• Ionised gas
• Quasi neutral
• Exhibits a collective behaviour
The potential energy of a typical particle is much smaller than its

kinetic energy
The origins of the word “plasma”
• The designation was introduced in 1928 by Langmuir

Langmuir, “Oscillations in ionized gases,” Proc. Nat.
Acad. Sci. U.S. (1928) 14 628
• From Greek, πλάσμα (moldar), as the shines

adapts to the Crookes tube shape
• “. . . we have observed some phenomena of

remarkable beauty which may prove to be of
theoretical interest.”
Langmuir, Science (1924) 60 p 392

Why isAs perguntas fundamentais
plasma interesting?
• The electrons, light particles, tend to have high

“temperatures”, while the ions, heavier, tend to have low
“temperatures” (non equilibrium!)
• Reactions that usually occur only at high temperatures can

take place at low temperatures!
• Plasmas emit radiation, both in the visible and in the

ultraviolet ranges
Plasmas are useful for nearly everything!

What is plasma useful for?
For nearly everything!

PlasmaAs perguntas fundamentais
applications
• Thermonuclear fusion
• Plasma propulsion
• Gas lasers
• Micro and nanoelectronics
• Depollution
• Biology and medicine
• Processing of materials
• Particle acceleration
…
Nuclear fusion
Lawson’s criterion: nτ>1020 m-3s

Magnetic confinement fusion
Magnetic confinement fusion
Stellarator: Princeton, 1951; Germany, October 2015

InertialAs perguntas fundamentais
fusion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYkmhJpM9Ko
Fundamental concepts
• Debye shielding
• Plasma frequency
• Plasma parameter
• Ionisation degree
DebyeAs perguntas fundamentais
shielding
• Positive test ion, of infinite mass

• Attracts the electrons and repels the other
positive ions
• The electron density in the neighbourhood
of the test charge increases
• A cloud is formed, which tends to cancel the
charge - shielding
shielding
⇥1/2
⇥0 kT
D =
n0 e2
Quasi neutrality is not

verified within the
Debye sphere
shielding
Some typical values

shielding
• Electrostatic potential
1 QT
⇥(r) =
4 ⇤0 r
• Debye potential (“adiabatic response”)

⇥
1 QT r
⇤(r) = exp
4⇥⌅0 r D
shielding
• The phenomenon is known as Debye shielding. It

is the first example of a collective behaviour of
plasma
The hypothesis that the potential energy of a typical particle is

much lower than its kinetic energy is used in the linearisation
of Poisson’s equation
Plasma frequency
Oscillatory motion of angular frequency ωp=

Plasma parameter
1/3
• Distance between neighbouring particle ~ n0
e2
• Potential energy due to the closest neighbour ~
r
n1/3
o e2
1 3
• Typical kinetic energy ~
2
m v ⇥ = kTe
2
2
➡ Plasma parameter: = n0 3
D 1
Plasma: number of electrons in a Debye cube >>1

Ionisation degree
A plasma can coexist with another state:
• In the ionosphere there are regions where 99% of the gas is

neutral and only 1% is ionised
• We then speak of a partially ionised plasma

• The plasma parameter Λ is calculated only with the ionised
component (and we have Λ>>1)
• Typically there is a continous exchange of charges between

the particles of the non-ionised gas and of the ionised plasma
• The medium is characterised by the degree of ionisation, ne/n0

The wonderful world of plasmas!
How can we study plasmas?
• Motion of individual particles

• Kinetic equations
• Fluid equations
MotionAs perguntas fundamentais
of a single particle
• In a plasma there are many charged particles,

which move in self-consistent electric and
magnetic fields
‣We start by studying motion in “imposed”

fields
in a magnetic field
Many plasmas in Nature and in the laboratory

exist in the presence of magnetic fields
⇤ ⇤ ⇤
F =qv ⇥B
Guiding centre
B
B
electron
ion
in a magnetic field
‣ In a constant magnetic field there is uniform motion in

the direction of B and circular in the perpendicular
plane
|q|B
Ciclotronic frequency: c =
m
mv v
Larmor radius: rL = =
|q|B c
ExB Drift
• A charge moves in the xOy plane, with a

magnetic field along z
• “Turn on” an E field perpendicular to B
• As the charge accelerates, the Larmor

radius is modified!
mv v
rL = =
|q|B c
ExB drift
ad.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Charged-particle-drifts.svg 9/4/12 2:54 PM
B
There is a drift in the
direction perpendicular to
the fields, denoted as ExB
drift
⇤ ⇤
B ⇤ E⇥B
vd=
B2
ExB drift
Magnetic mirrors
And what of the B field is non-uniform?
The magnetic moment μ is constant along the orbit, if the

field does not change much in a“giroperiod”
µ = IA
For the cyclotronic motion

1 2
mv
I = q(⇥c /2 ) A = rL
2
µ= 2
B
Magnetic mirrors
Conservation of the magnetic moment

1 2
mv
µ= 2
= const.
B
Energy conservation
1 ⇥
U = m v 2 + v⇥2 = const.
2
When B increases, v increases, v decreases, and may reach

zero the particle is reflected!
Magnetic mirrors
Reﬂection point
Magnetic mirrors
Magnetic mirror machine

Magnetic mirrors
Magnetic mirrors in Nature!

Bonus:As perguntas fundamentais
the Van Allen belts
A new configuration was discovered in September 2012!
Give us a break!
What about a coffee now?
Be back at 11h00…

• Fluid equations
KineticAs perguntas fundamentais
equations
• In a plasma there are many charged particles,

which move in self-consistent electric and
magnetic fields
• We have already understood how does a
particle move in E and B fields
• Now we want to take into account the
motion of all the particles!
Exact As perguntas fundamentais
equations
• Contain all the orbits of the individual

particles (!)
• Is this what we want???
No :)
• For instante, we don’t want to know how
much each electron contributes to the
electric field in a given point!
• We are looking for information on certain
average properties and the characteristics of
the fluctuations
Distribution function
• The exact equations (Klimontovich,

Liouville) are not used in practice...
... but are very useful as starting points to
obtain approximate equations
• Distribution function:
f (r, p, t) such that f (r, p, t)d3 rd3 p is the
number of particles in the elements d3r and
d3p centred in r and p, at instant t
The BBGKY hierarchy
It is still an exact system of equations

The first equation:
⇥ ⇤
p⇥1 ⇥
+ · ⇥r1 + F⇥1 · ⇥
⇥p
1
f1 (z1 , t) = ⇥ 1,2 · ⇥
dz2 K ⇥ p f2 (z1 , z2 , t)
1
t m
The equation of order s...

⇥ s ⌅
⇤
+ hs fs (1, · · · , s, t) = ⇥ i,s+1 · ⇥
dzs+1 K ⇥ p fs+1 (1, · · · , s + 1, t)
i
t i=1
‣To be useful it is necessary to truncate the

system
Truncations of the hierarchy
Again the first equation

⇥ ⇥
p⇥1 ⇥ f1
+ · r1 + F⇥1 · ⇥ p1 f1 (z1 , t) =
t m t col.
The different approximations proposed for

the collision integral lead to the different
kinetic equations (Boltzamann without
second term, Vlasov, Boltzmann, etc.)
Boltzmann equation without second
term
The most crude approximation!
Simply neglect the interactions among

particles :)
It does not provide more information that

the study of the individual trajectories...
VlasovAs perguntas fundamentais
equation
A second approach: neglect the correlations

among the particles
• An average term of space charge field appears, due to
the global(“collective”) effects of the remaining charges
on a certain particle
• It is formally identical to the Boltzmann equations

without second term, but the force includes the force
due to the space-charge field
It is suited to study the collective motion of a relatively dense gas of

charged particles
Boltzmann equation
Corresponds to the opposite situation: the

interaction phenomena are brutal binary
collisions, localised and instantaneous, and
between collisions there are no interactions
among particles
It is suited to study plasmas with low degrees

of ionisation, where the dominant collisions
are electron-neutral collisions
Ludwig Boltzmann
Ludwig Boltzmann
“Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his

life studying statistical mechanics, died in 1906,
by his own hand. Paul Ehrenfest, carrying on
the work, died similarly in 1933.
Perhaps it will be wise to approach the
subject cautiously.”
David Goodstein (in States of matter, Dover
1975)
Weakly ionised plasmas
The electron distribution function depends

mainly on the electron-neutral collisions
➡ Plasma as a reactive medium

Weakly ionised plasmas
Vibration kinetics
Continuity equation
Chemical kinetics Electron kinetics
for electrons
Surface kinetics
A zoo As perguntas fundamentais
of “active” species
Example: the
nitrogen molecule
•Rotational excited states

•Vibration excited states
•Electronic excited stated
(metastable and radiative)
•Dissociation
•Ionisation
The electron kinetics
Again the Boltzmann equation
⇥ ⇤
⌅f1
= d3 p2 d |⇧v2 ⇧v1 | ⇥( , ⇤) (f2 f1 f2 f1 )
⌅t col.
σ: collision cross section

ctron kinetics
The electron kinetics
Electron kinetics
The EEDF is calculated from the stationary `R homogeneous
⇤ ´ electron Boltzma
equation in the local approximation 0 stationary f (u) udu =1 .
The electron Boltzmann
The EEDF is calculated from the equation
equation in the local approximation
homogeneous electron Boltzmann
`R ⇤ ´
f (u) udu = 1 .
0
dG P ˆ⇤ ⇤
= i,j dG u=+ uij ⇤
P ˆ ij (u + uij(u) +
f (u + uij ) ⇤u ij f (u)
dt i,j u + uij ij u ) f (u + u
ij ij ) u ij f (u)
⇤dt ⇤ ⇤⇤ ˜ ˜
+ u uij +ji (u
u uijuijji (u
) f (u
uij ) f (uuij )uij ) uu jiji ff(u)
(u)
energy energy
energy energy
G is the •flux
G isinthe energy spaceupflux
total electron dueinto the
energy
u+uij u+uij
G is thecontinuous
total electrontermsupflux in energy
space due to the continuous terms.
• The r.h.s accounts for excitation and
u+uij u+uij
space due to the continuous terms.
u u
The rhs represents
de-excitation the “jumps”anddue to
of vibrational
The r.h.s accounts for excitation
electronic states. and
inelastic and superelastic collisions
de-excitation of vibrational and
uij : energy threshold u u
uij: energy
electronic states. threshold
ij : inelastic collision frequency u-uij u-uij
νij: collisionji :frequency for thefreq.

superelastic collision ij transition
uij : energy threshold inelastic superelastic
collisions collisions
TheApink afterglow
8+"9:%;,-1$+"<,-.$#:-1$'+
pós-descarga cor-de-rosa
The puzzle
???
N2(A, B, C), N(2D, 2P), ne, N2+(X,B),...

V-V “up-pumping”
4
N ( S) + N (4 S)
POTENTIAL ENERGY
W +1
W
N 2 ( X 1 ! +g )
N2(X,v)+ N2(X,w) ←
→ N2(X,v-1)+ N2(X,w+1)
V-1
INTERNUCLEAR DISTANCE
The solution
• The high vibration levels, not populated in the discharge,

start to be significantly populated in the afterglow!
• They can induce new reactions, not available in the

discharge
Reentry plasmas: exomars
First entry of an european spaceship on Mars

atmosphere (97%CO2-3%N2)
Model for the radiation transfer (IR CO2) along

the entry in the martian atmosphere
CO2  IR  Air 
Other Systems 
• The radiation heat transfer is dominated by

the CO2 IR
• The radiative heat flows are much larger
than initially estimated (<2009)
• The mission profile had to be changed to
include thermal protections on the back side
of the ship

• Fluid equations
The fluid approach
• Plasma is described as two fluids (electronic
and ionic)
• All particles of each species are described
with the same velocity
• The formulation can be obtained
heuristically or from a kinetic equation (eg.
Vlasov)
- Continuity equation [n(r,t)]
- Momentum conservation equation [v(r,t)]
- (...)
The fluid approach
How do fuid equations look like?

@n↵
+ r · (n↵ v↵ ) = 0
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✓ ◆
@ q↵ rP↵
+ r · v↵ v↵ = (E + v ⇥ B)
@t m↵
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m↵ n↵
!70
The fluid approach

@n↵
+ r · (n↵ v↵ ) = 0
✓ ◆
@ q↵ rP↵
+ r · v↵ v↵ = (E + v ⇥ B)
@t m↵
m↵ n↵
Electrostatic phenomena
e
r · E = (ni ne )
✏0
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!71
The fluid approach

@n↵
+ r · (n↵ v↵ ) = 0
✓ ◆
@ q↵ rP↵
+ r · v↵ v↵ = (E + v ⇥ B)
@t m↵
m↵ n↵
Electromagnetic phenomena
@B 1 @E
r⇥E= r ⇥ B = µ0 J
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c2 @t
!72
Study As perguntas fundamentais
of waves in plasmas
• Propagate energy from one part of the

plasma to another one
• Send information to the exterior of the
plasma: an external observer can know what
is happening inside the plasma
• Can became unstable, growing as they
propagate (which may destroy the plasma
confinement)
of waves in plasmas
• Instabilities can be
helpful! E.g. in solid-
state (graphene)
plasmas
Field-effect transistor
!74
n(x = 0) = n0 , n(x = L)v(x = L) = n0 v0 .

of waves in plasmas
This instability was first studied in the context of regular 2DEG in high mobility field effect tr
can be easily implemented in GFET with the characteristics of Fig.3.1.
Electrons in graphene are very mobile

z
L
d0
ID y
gate
@n @
+ (nv) = 0 W
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@t @x
GFET source
✓ ◆ U x
@ @ 1 @U 1 @P graphene
+v v=
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@t @x m⇤ @x m⇤ n @x drain
Figure 3.1: Left panel – Circuit implementation of a GFET under the conditio
of DS instability. Right panel – Schematic Quantum
Gate tension: pressure
diagram for gated graphene transis
p
Suspended graphene monolayer placed between two metallic contacts, source a
U subject
drain, and = en/C P = U~v=Fend0⇡n
to an electrostatic potential
3 /3 by a ga
/" imposed
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<latexit sha1_base64="LECbzQeyEYiGUKxaejlIUz+D/EE=">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</latexit>
placed at a distance d0 from the sheet. For the DS instability to occur a fix
current ID is injected at the drain while maintaining the electronic density of
source constant. !75
of waves in plasmas
Electrons in graphene are very mobile

1.8
2
)
1.6
@n @
n(L) (1012 cm
1.4
+ (nv) = 0 1.2
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@t @x U 1
⌥ G
✓ ◆ S
graphene
D
0.8
@ @ 1x = 0@U 1 x @P 0.6
+v v= =L
@t @x m⇤ @x !
IDS⇤ n @x
m 0.4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
t (ps)
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(a) (b)
Gate
FIG. 1: Left panel: Schematic Quantum
tension: pressure
p gated graphene
diagram for
transistor.
U = en/C P =to~voccur
For the DS instability
F
a fixed
⇡n 3 /3 current
IDS is injected at the drain while mantaining the electronic
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density of the source constant. Right panel: Example !7of

6 the
Applications of waves in plasmas
• Physics of the ionosphere

- “If humans had radio antennas instead of ears, we
would hear a remarkable symphony of strange noises
coming from our own planet. They sound like
background music from a flamboyant science fiction
film, but this is not science fiction. Earth's natural
radio emissions are real and, although we're mostly
unaware of them, they are around us all the time.”
NASA webpage
WavesAs perguntas fundamentais
in the ionosphere
ARTICLE IN PRESS
Planetary and Space Science 54 (2006) 528–540

www.elsevier.com/locate/pss
Ground-based GPS imaging of ionospheric post-seismic signal

Philippe Lognonnéa,!, Juliette Artrub, Raphael Garciaa, Franc- ois Crespona,
Vesna Ducica, Eric Jeansouc, Giovani Occhipintia, Jérôme Helbertc,
Guilhelm Moreauxc, Pierre-Emmanuel Godeta
a
Laboratoire d’Etudes Spatiales et de Planétologie, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, UMR7154,
4 Avenue de Neptune, 94100 Saint Maur des Fossés Cedex, France
b
Seismological Laboratory, California Institut of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
c
NOVELTIS, Parc Technologique du Canal, 2 Avenue de l’Europe, 31520 Ramonville, Saint Agne, France
Received 1 March 2005; received in revised form 27 July 2005; accepted 14 October 2005
Abstract
During the Demeter mission, a continuous global positioning system (GPS) ionospheric tomography above Europe, Japan and
California will be performed with the Service and Products of ionosphere Electronic Content and Tropospheric Refractive index over
Europe (SPECTRE) experiment. The main goal of the conducted observations is to detect and characterize post-seimic ionospheric
perturbations associated to seismic generated waves, more precisely near field seismic waves, far field Rayleigh waves and tsunamis. We
first review the theory describing post-seismic ionospheric signals as well as the most recent observations of these signals. We then present
the description of the tomographic procedure used for the SPECTRE experiment, as well as the obtained tomographic models. We finally
draw the perspective of such observations.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Surface waves; Tsunamis; TEC; Global positioning system; Remote sensing
1. Introduction related to coupling of oceanic gravity waves (i.e. tsunami)

with atmospheric and ionospheric gravity waves. The third
Recent developments in ionosphere remote sensing, in ones are related to electromagnetic coupling between the
particular techniques using the global positioning system solid Earth and the ionosphere and might be observed
(GPS) provide an unprecedented capability for monitoring either during or after quakes, but also possibly before
the state of the ionosphere, its reaction to solar events as earthquakes. For a general review of both signals, see
well as ionospheric wave phenomena. But the ionosphere is Parrot et al. (1993).
also an important Earth layer for solid Earth geophysicists. While the main objective of the Demeter mission is
The structure and activity of the ionosphere is indeed not related to the pre-seismic electromagnetic signals, this
only related to solar–terrestrial interactions, but also to paper and the associated investigations are mainly related
solid Earth-atmosphere. Three types of signals can be to the post-seismic signals and only a short review of the
• Astrophysics and space physics

- The waves are everywhere
- The main interest is on the particle-wave
interactions
in space
• Magnetic fusion
- One of the biggest driving forces for
research related to waves in plasmas
- Fusion plasmas are constantly affected by
micro-instabilities
- Attempts to use waves to increase the
temperature of the plasma
• Inertial fusion
- Very intense electromagnetic waves
- Relativistic plasmas
- Large gradients of the plasma parameters
→ strong non-linearities (and non-
homogeneities)
A zoo As perguntas fundamentais
of plasma waves
• Simplest case: non magnetised, cold, infinite,

homogeneous and linear
• Then we drop the restrictions, one by one :)
• Dispersion relation ω=ω(k)
Plasma oscillations
• B=0
• Cold medium (we ignore the thermal
motion of electrons and ions)
• Longitudinal waves: ω = ωp
- independent of k
- the phase velocity (ω/k) can have any value
- the group velocity (dω/dk) is zero there is no
energy propagation
Langmuir waves
• B=0
• Warm medium (the electron thermal
agitation is considered)
• Longitudinal waves: ω2 = ωp2 + (3/2)(kvt)2

- There is no propagation for ω < ωp
- A wave entering the plasma with ω < ωp is reflected
(cut off)
Voyager I
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/interstellarvoyager/
Electromagnetic waves
• Transverse waves: ω2 = ωp2 + (kc)2

- There is no propagation for ω < ωp
- A wave entering the plasma with ω < ωp is reflected
(cut off)
- For each frequency, there is a critical electron density,
m 0 2
n,c = 2 ⇥ , above which the wave cannot
e
propagate
Transmission of radio waves
ωp ≈ 0...100 MHz
“Reentry blackout”
• During reentry the spaceships ionise the

surrounding air
- In Mars: “Mars pathfinder”
- In Titan: Huygens
- In Earth: space shuttle
The space shuttle
The space shuttle
The whistler mode
• Electromagnetic waves in the presence of an

external magnetic field, k⫽B
• The waves of higher frequency arrive first,
and a whistle of decreased frequency is
heard!
• A single lightning can originate several
whistlers, as the waves can travel on
different field lines
• Listen a whistler
The whistler mode
!93
Dispersion relation
‘Red Sprite’: Midnight’s summer dream
Ludwig Boltzmann
Loschmidt vs Boltzmann
http://comp.uark.edu/~jgeabana/mol_dyn/
Loschmidt 0 - Boltzmann 10
1 20
Heavy-particles
It is necessary to write the rate balance

(creation-loss) for each species
We can easily have dozens of species and
hundreds of reactions!
Example
N2(X,v=13)+O → NO+N
Diﬀusion of charged particles
Sheaths:
-for regions of the order of λD (in reality ≈5 λD) the
quasi-neutrality conditions may be violated
-this is what happens nearly a wall (boundary)
-the electrons charge
the wall negatively
-the sheath
accelerates the ions
and repels the
electrons
-common flow,
ambipolar diffusion
OzoneAs perguntas fundamentais
formation
Ozone (O3) production in low-temperature

plasmas:
• well-known at atmospheric pressure
• poorly known at lower pressures
The experimental results at low pressure

(1~Torr) were not explained by the models
used at atmospheric pressure...
shown. One can see that both the absolute value and the time evolution of
reproduced by the model. It was found that the main ozone production mec
OzoneAs perguntas fundamentais
formation
phase reaction O+O2+O2→O3+O2. According to [1-3] about 2/3 of produc
excited with a preferential population of the asymmetric stretching mode.
the key role of the excited ozone in the kinetics of O3 formation. As the
found sufficient to reproduce the kinetics of O3 at 6,7 mbar, no precise c
regarding the surface formation of ozone for these conditions. One shoul
The results are explained by the presence of
recombination probability of atomic oxygen at p=6.7 mbar was O=5·10-4 an
the upper limit for O3. Based on the present results we are not able to rule
vibrationally excited ozone
surface production of ozone with O3≤1·10-4.
4.5E+14%
2,5x10
14 No%O3(*),%gO2(a)=2(75)% 14
3x10
4.0E+14% No%O3(*),%gO2(a)=2(74)%
14
3.5E+14% 2,0x10 Lopaev%
Wiht%O3(*)%II%
6.7 mbar, Model
3.0E+14% 2x10
14
O3 [cm ]
14 6.7 mbar, E=0.16J

-3
1,5x10
O3 [cm ]
4 Exp%Data%
-3
mbar, E=0.14J
2.5E+14% 2.7 mbar, E=0.22J
14 1.3 mbar, E=0.18J
2.0E+14% 1,0x10
14
1x10
1.5E+14% 13
5,0x10
1.0E+14%
5.0E+13% 0,0 0
0.0E+00% 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 100

0.0% 0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.6% 0.7%
t [ms]
Fig. 1 : Ozone production in the afterglow of a Fig. 2 : Ozone product

pulsed DC discharge
Note about the non-equilibrium
on the ionosphere

Plasmas in Nature

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A

99% of the (visible) matter in the universe!

• Increase the temperature

The potential energy of a typical particle is much smaller than its

• The designation was introduced in 1928 by Langmuir

• From Greek, πλάσμα (moldar), as the shines

• “. . . we have observed some phenomena of

Langmuir, Science (1924) 60 p 392

• The electrons, light particles, tend to have high

• Reactions that usually occur only at high temperatures can

• Plasmas emit radiation, both in the visible and in the

Plasmas are useful for nearly everything!

For nearly everything!

Lawson’s criterion: nτ>1020 m-3s

Stellarator: Princeton, 1951; Germany, October 2015

• Positive test ion, of infinite mass

Quasi neutrality is not

Some typical values

• Debye potential (“adiabatic response”)

• The phenomenon is known as Debye shielding. It

The hypothesis that the potential energy of a typical particle is

Oscillatory motion of angular frequency ωp=

Plasma: number of electrons in a Debye cube >>1

A plasma can coexist with another state:

• In the ionosphere there are regions where 99% of the gas is

• We then speak of a partially ionised plasma

• Typically there is a continous exchange of charges between

• The medium is characterised by the degree of ionisation, ne/n0

• Motion of individual particles

• In a plasma there are many charged particles,

‣We start by studying motion in “imposed”

Many plasmas in Nature and in the laboratory

‣ In a constant magnetic field there is uniform motion in

• A charge moves in the xOy plane, with a

• As the charge accelerates, the Larmor

And what of the B field is non-uniform?

The magnetic moment μ is constant along the orbit, if the

For the cyclotronic motion

Conservation of the magnetic moment

When B increases, v increases, v decreases, and may reach

Magnetic mirror machine

Magnetic mirrors in Nature!

What about a coffee now?

• Motion of individual particles

• In a plasma there are many charged particles,

• Contain all the orbits of the individual

• The exact equations (Klimontovich,

It is still an exact system of equations

The equation of order s...

‣To be useful it is necessary to truncate the

Again the first equation

The different approximations proposed for

The most crude approximation!

Simply neglect the interactions among

It does not provide more information that

A second approach: neglect the correlations

• It is formally identical to the Boltzmann equations

It is suited to study the collective motion of a relatively dense gas of

Corresponds to the opposite situation: the

It is suited to study plasmas with low degrees

“Ludwig Boltzmann, who spent much of his

The electron distribution function depends

➡ Plasma as a reactive medium

•Rotational excited states