Electrostatic beam instabilities in a positive/negative ion plasma

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Abstract
This paper examines the linear theory of electrostatic waves and instabilities in an unmagnetized, homogeneous Vlasov plasma. The first configuration considered is that of a stable plasma with three Maxwellian components: electrons, positive ions, and negative ions. The dispersion properties of the lightly damped ion modes are studied as a function of relative electron density and relative component temperatures. The second configuration considered is that of a tenuous electron–ion beam with drift speed v0b streaming through a negative/positive ion plasma. If the beam is very tenuous, an electron beam instability satisfying ωr≂kv0b is excited; if the beam is more dense, the instability becomes Buneman‐like with parabolic dispersion. The thresholds and maximum growth rates of these instabilities are described as functions of the beam density and drift speed.

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