One–dimensional plasma model

Abstract

A one-dimensional plasma model consisting of a large number of identical charge sheets embedded in a uniform fixed neutralizing background is investigated by following the sheet motions on a high-speed computer. The thermalizing properties and ergodic behavior of the system are examined and found to be in agreement with the assumption that one is equally likely to find the system in equal volumes of the available phase space. The velocity distribution, Debye shielding, drag on fast and slow sheets, diffusion in velocity space, the Landau damping of the Fourier modes, the amplitude distribution function for the Fourier modes, and the distribution of electric fields felt by the sheets were obtained for the plasma in thermal equilibrium and compared with theoretically predicted values. In every case, except one, the drag on a slow sheet, the numerical results agreed with theory to within the statistical accuracy of the results. The numerical results for the drag on a slow sheet were about a factor of 2 lower than the theory predicated indicating that the approximations made in the theory are not entirely valid. An understanding of the cause of the discrepancy might lead to a better understanding of collisional processes in plasmas.