Kinetic simulation of vacuum plasma expansion beyond the "plasma approximation"

Abstract

Introduction/purpose: One of the key approaches to solving an entire class of modern plasma physics problems is the so-called "plasma approximation". The most general definition of the "plasma approximation" is a theoretical approach to the electric field calculation of a system of charges under the electric quasi-neutrality condition. The purpose of this paper is to compare the results of the numerical simulation of the kinetic processes of the quasi-neutral plasma bunch expansion to the analytical solution of a similar kinetic model but in the "plasma approximation". Methods: The given results are obtained by the methods of deterministic modeling based on the numerical solution of the system of Vlasov-Poisson equations. Results: The provided comparison of the analytical expressions for the solution of kinetic equations in the "plasma approximation" and the numerical solutions of the Vlasov-Poisson equations system convincingly show the limitations of the "plasma approximation" in some important cases of the considered problem of plasma formation decay. Conclusion: The theoretical results of this work are of great importance for understanding the shortcomings of the "plasma approximation", which can manifest themselves in practical applications of computational plasma physics.