2D particle-in-cell simulations of the electron drift instability and associated anomalous electron transport in Hall-effect thrusters
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Abstract In this work we study the electron drift instability in Hall-effect thrusters (HETs) using a 2D electrostatic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The simulation is configured with a Cartesian coordinate system modeling the radial-azimuthal ( r – θ ) plane for large radius thrusters. A magnetic field, B 0 , is aligned along the Oy axis ( r direction), a constant applied electric field, E 0 , along the Oz axis (perpendicular to the simulation plane), and the E 0 × B 0 direction is along the Ox axis ( θ direction). Although electron transport can be well described by electron–neutral collisions for low plasma densities, at high densities (similar to those in typical HETs), a strong instability is observed that enhances the electron cross-field mobility; even in the absence of electron–neutral collisions. The instability generates high frequency (of the order of MHz) and short wavelength (of the order of mm) fluctuations in both the azimuthal electric field and charged particle densities, and propagates in the E 0 × B 0 direction with a velocity close to the ion sound speed. The correlation between the electric field and density fluctuations (which leads to an enhanced electron–ion friction force) is investigated and shown to be directly responsible for the increased electron transport. Results are compared with a recent kinetic theory, showing good agreement with the instability properties and electron transport.
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Therefore, such discharges are often modeled by two-fluid or hybrid descriptions.
“Therefore, such discharges are often modeled either by the two-fluid 109-112 or by hybrid 21,27 (fluid for electrons and particle for ions, see Sec. IV A) descriptions.”
From Plasma propulsion modeling with particle-based algorithms (2023) · cites this paper as [110]
The citation is attached to the hybrid-description portion of the sentence. The Introduction and §2.2 describe particle-in-cell simulations, but the passages found for “hybrid,” “fluid,” and “two-fluid” do not address whether Hall-effect-thruster discharges are often modeled with hybrid fluid-electron/particle-ion descriptions. (LLM, conf=0.72)
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“146,188,190 Typically, in such simulations, significant anomalous transport in the axial direction as well as very effective electron heating are observed.”
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- Authors
- Croes, V., Lafleur, T., Bonaventura, Z., Bourdon, A., & Chabert, P.
- Affiliations
- Université Paris-Sud (FR)
- Masaryk University (CZ)
- Corresponding author
- Croes, Vivien
- Venue
- Plasma Sources Science and Technology
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Published
- 2017-02-06
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 034001
- ISSN
- 0963-0252 (ISSN-L)
- 1361-6595
- OpenAlex
- W2586125777
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 4.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Plasma Sources Science and Technology (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-16-CHIN-0003)
- Grantová Agentura České Republiky (GA15-04023S, LO1411)
- Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
- Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie
- Safran Aircraft Engines
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Plasma Diagnostics and Applications
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Vacuum and Plasma Arcs
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Magnetic confinement fusion research
- Keywords
- Hall thruster, anomalous electron transport, E×B drift, density fluctuations, azimuthal electric field
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