Ponderomotive barrier as a Maxwell demon

Abstract

The possibility of efficient ponderomotive current drive in a magnetized plasma was reported recently in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 205004 (2003)]. Precise limitations on the efficiency are now given through a comprehensive analytical and numerical study of single-particle dynamics under the action of a cyclotron-resonant rf drive in various field configurations. Expressions for the particle energy gain and acceleration along the dc magnetic field are obtained. The fundamental correlation between the two effects is described. A second fundamental quantity, namely, the ratio of the potential barrier to the energy gain, can be changed by altering the field configuration. The asymmetric ponderomotive current drive effect can be optimized by minimizing the transverse heating.

Positive and negative effective mass of classical particles in oscillatory and static fields

“…Similar effects were previously discussed in Refs. [12,61,63,70,71,72,73,74,75]. With the effective-mass formalism, these effects can now be explained within a unified approach.…”

Numerical Modeling of Electrodeless Electric Thruster by Ion Cyclotron Resonance/Ponderomotive Acceleration

“…Here Ω i decreases along the zaxis, and the resonance point, z 0 , at which ω = Ω i (z 0 ), coincides with the peak of E ⊥ (z). The sign of Φ is reversed at the peak; consequently, the ponderomotive force, F pm = −dΦ/dz, becomes unidirectional, leading to a parallel energy gain of the ions [5].…”

“…As part of the Helicon Electrodeless Advanced Thruster (HEAT) project, we have examined one type of electrodeless plasma acceleration schemes, namely the ion cyclotron resonance/ponderomotive acceleration (ICR/PA), by utilizing test particle simulations [4]. The PA gives rise to a pure parallel acceleration of ions [5], whereas the ICR causes perpendicular ion heating, followed by an energy conversion from the perpendicular to parallel direction in the presence of a divergent magnetic field.…”

“…The perpendicular energy gain of ions due to the ICR is expressed by the quasilinear theory (QLT) as follows [4,5];…”

Direct-current-like phase space manipulation using chirped alternating current fields

“…1,2 The idea of producing holes in phase space through BGK modes has been explored further both experimentally and theoretically. [6][7][8] There are of course in addition many specific wave mechanisms that have been advanced to manipulate a particle distribution in phase space, such as recently ponderomotive methods where particles exit a ponderomotive potential in an appropriate way, [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] ratchet effects using a cyclotron resonance, [21][22][23] and wakefield acceleration effects 24 including acceleration in plasma channels. 25 The particle dynamics underlying all of these applications is by now well researched.…”