PROPAGATION OF NONLINEAR PULSES IN A NONNEUTRAL PLASMA SLAB

The axial propagation of linear and nonlinear pulses in a strongly magnetized non-neutral plasma slab is studied using a recently developed particle simulation code [Ramachandran et al. Phys. Fluids B 5, 2733 (1993)]. These pulses are generated by suddenly applying a negative potential to wail antennas on the confining walls. Theoretical predictions are compared to electrostatic particle simulations over a wide range of excitation amplitudes, and are shown to be in excellent agreement. A simple theoretical model is developed to describe the formation of the observed electron bursts and the associated wave breaking that arises for very large antenna potentials. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.