Anisotropic electron heating in an electron cyclotron resonance thruster with magnetic nozzle

Chauffage anisotropique dans un propulsion à résonance électronique cyclotronique avec tuyère magnétique

J. Porto (1) , P.-Q. Elias (1) , A. Ciardi (2)

1 DPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay [Palaiseau]
2 LERMA - Laboratoire d'Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères = Laboratory for Studies of Radiation and Matter in Astrophysics and Atmospheres

In a grid-less Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) plasma thruster with a diverging magnetic nozzle, the magnitude of the ambipolar field accelerating the positive ions depends of the perpendicular energy gained by the electrons. This work investigates the heating of the electrons by electromagnetic waves, taking their bouncing motion into account in a confining well formed by the magnetic mirror force and the electrostatic potential of the thruster. An electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code is used to simulate the plasma in a magnetic field tube. The code's Maxwell solver is based on a semi-Lagrangian scheme known as the Constrained Interpolation Profile (CIP) which enables larger time steps. The results show that anisotropic plasma heating takes place exclusively inside the coaxial chamber, along a Dopplerbroadened zone. It is also shown that a trapped population of electrons with a larger perpendicular energy exists in the plume.

Mots clés: RESONANCE CYCLOTRON ELECTRON; PARTICLE IN CELL; PROPULSION PLASMA

Domaines: Physique des plasmas [physics.plasm-ph]

J. Porto, P.-Q. Elias, A. Ciardi. Anisotropic electron heating in an electron cyclotron resonance thruster with magnetic nozzle. Physics of Plasmas, 2023, 30 (2), pp.023506. ⟨10.1063/5.0124834⟩. ⟨hal-04034586⟩