Sawtooth oscillations in a damped/driven cryogenic electron plasma: Experiment and theory
- 1 June 1997
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Physics of Plasmas
- Vol. 4 (6) , 2062-2071
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.872372
Abstract
Measurements have been made of nonlinear sawtooth oscillations of the displacement of a magnetized electron column in a cryogenic, cylindrical trap. First reported 7 years ago, these oscillations occur when the displacement is destabilized by a resistive wall and damped by a temperature-dependent collisional viscosity. A typical evolution can last for thousands of seconds. Measurements show that oscillations of the plasma displacement are accompanied by oscillations in the plasma temperature. A simple predator-and-prey model of the temperature and displacement gives rise to a limit cycle solution due to the nonmonotonic dependence of the viscosity on temperature. These limit cycles are in good quantitative agreement with the measured sawtooth oscillations.Keywords
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