# Journal of Plasma Physics (J PLASMA PHYS )

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

## Description

Journal of Plasma Physics publishes primary research articles in plasma physics both theoretical and experimental and its applications. Basic topics include the fundamental physics of plasmas ionization kinetic theory particle orbits stochastic dynamics wave propagation solitons stability shock waves transport heating and diagnostics. Applications include fusion laboratory plasmas and communications devices laser plasmas technological plasmas space physics and astrophysics.

## Impact factor 0.74

• Hide impact factor history

Impact factor
.
Year
• 5-year impact
0.75
• Cited half-life
0.00
• Immediacy index
0.41
• Eigenfactor
0.00
• Article influence
0.33
• Website
Journal of Plasma Physics website
• Other titles
Journal of plasma physics
• ISSN
0022-3778
• OCLC
1754745
• Material type
Periodical, Internet resource
• Document type
Journal / Magazine / Newspaper, Internet Resource

## Publisher details

• Pre-print
• Author can archive a pre-print version
• Post-print
• Author can archive a post-print version
• Conditions
• Author's Pre-print on author's personal website, departmental website, social media websites, institutional repository, non-commercial subject-based repositories, such as PubMed Central, Europe PMC or arXiv
• Author's post-print for HSS journals, on author's personal website, departmental website, institutional repository, non-commercial subject-based repositories, such as PubMed Central, Europe PMC or arXiv, on acceptance of publication
• Author's post-print for STM journals, on author's personal website on acceptance of publication
• Author's post-print for STM journals, on departmental website, institutional repository, non-commercial subject-based repositories, such as PubMed Central, Europe PMC or arXiv, after a 6 months embargo
• Publisher's version/PDF cannot be used
• Published abstract may be deposited
• Pre-print to record acceptance for publication
• Publisher copyright and source must be acknowledged with set statement, for deposit of Authors Post-print or Publisher's version/PDF
• Must link to publisher version
• Publisher last reviewed on 07/10/2014
• Classification
​ green

## Publications in this journal

• ##### Article: Tunneling and mode conversion of fast magnetosonic waves in the magnetospheres of Earth and Mercury
[Hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Narrow-band linearly polarized waves, having a resonant structure and a peak frequency between the local cyclotron frequency of protons and heavy ions, have been detected in the magnetospheres of Earth and of Mercury. Some of these wave events have been suggested to be driven by linear mode conversion (MC) of the fast magnetosonic waves at the ion-ion hybrid (IIH) resonances. Since the resonant IIH frequency is linked to the plasma composition, solving the inverse problem allows one to infer the concentration of the heavy ions from the measured frequency spectra. In this paper, we identify the conditions when the MC efficiency is maximized in the magnetospheric plasmas and discuss how this can be applied for estimating the heavy ion concentration in the magnetospheres of Earth and Mercury.
Journal of Plasma Physics 11/2014;
• Source
##### Article: Non-linear collisionless damping of Weibel turbulence in relativistic blast waves
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ABSTRACT: The Weibel/filamentation instability is known to play a key role in the physics of weakly magnetized collisionless shock waves. From the point of view of high energy astrophysics, this instability also plays a crucial role because its development in the shock precursor populates the downstream with a small-scale magneto-static turbulence which shapes the acceleration and radiative processes of suprathermal particles. The present work discusses the physics of the dissipation of this Weibel-generated turbulence downstream of relativistic collisionless shock waves. It calculates explicitly the first-order non-linear terms associated to the diffusive nature of the particle trajectories. These corrections are found to systematically increase the damping rate, assuming that the scattering length remains larger than the coherence length of the magnetic fluctuations. The relevance of such corrections is discussed in a broader astrophysical perspective, in particular regarding the physics of the external relativistic shock wave of a gamma-ray burst.
Journal of Plasma Physics 10/2014;
• Source
##### Article: Proton temperature-anisotropy-driven instabilities in weakly collisional plasmas: Hybrid simulations
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ABSTRACT: Kinetic instabilities in weakly collisional, high beta plasmas are investigated using two-dimensional hybrid expanding box simulations with Coulomb collisions modeled through the Langevin equation (corresponding to the Fokker-Planck one). The expansion drives a parallel or perpendicular temperature anisotropy (depending on the orientation of the ambient magnetic field). For the chosen parameters the Coulomb collisions are important with respect to the driver but are not strong enough to keep the system stable with respect to instabilities driven by the proton temperature anisotropy. In the case of the parallel temperature anisotropy the dominant oblique fire hose instability efficiently reduces the anisotropy in a quasilinear manner. In the case of the perpendicular temperature anisotropy the dominant mirror instability generates coherent compressive structures which scatter protons and reduce the temperature anisotropy. For both the cases the instabilities generate temporarily enough wave energy so that the corresponding (anomalous) transport coefficients dominate over the collisional ones and their properties are similar to those in collisionless plasmas.
Journal of Plasma Physics 09/2014;
• Source
##### Article: Flow dynamics and magnetic induction in the von-Karman plasma experiment
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ABSTRACT: The von-Karman plasma experiment is a novel versatile experimental device designed to explore the dynamics of basic magnetic induction processes and the dynamics of flows driven in weakly magnetized plasmas. A high-density plasma column (10^16 - 10^19 particles.m^-3) is created by two radio-frequency plasma sources located at each end of a 1 m long linear device. Flows are driven through JxB azimuthal torques created from independently controlled emissive cathodes. The device has been designed such that magnetic induction processes and turbulent plasma dynamics can be studied from a variety of time-averaged axisymmetric flows in a cylinder. MHD simulations implementing volume-penalization support the experimental development to design the most efficient flow-driving schemes and understand the flow dynamics. Preliminary experimental results show that a rotating motion of up to nearly 1 km/s is controlled by the JxB azimuthal torque.
Journal of Plasma Physics 09/2014;
• ##### Article: Investigation of deuterated target eﬀects on neutron yield in plasma focus device SBUMTPF1
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ABSTRACT: In this research, the eﬀect of inserting deuterated solid target in plasma focus device ‘SBUMTPF1’ on neutron yield has been investigated. The deuterated target with the diameter of 2.5 cm was placed at diﬀerent heights relative to the anode tip. In each height, the best place of target (where the ion density is highest) was found from observing the eﬀects of ions struck on the aluminum samples. Also for each height, 20 shots were performed at the optimum pressure of deuterium working gas and operating voltage, which are equal to 1.5 mbar and 24 kV, respectively. The neutron production was measured with two activation counters, which placed in 0 relative to the anode axis. Neutron scattering from two activation counters was calculated with MCNP4C code and the results showed that this eﬀect is negligible. In this article, the probability of implanting deuterium ions into the titanium target was also investigated. Deviation angle of the ion emission relative to the anode axis was measured experimentally in this research and it was about 3.1◦ and 90◦.
Journal of Plasma Physics 08/2014;
• Source
##### Article: Laboratory plasma physics experiments using merging supersonic plasma jets
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ABSTRACT: We describe a laboratory plasma physics experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory that uses two merging supersonic plasma jets formed and launched by pulsed-power-driven rail guns. The jets can be formed using any atomic species or mixture available in a compressed-gas bottle and have the following nominal initial parameters at the railgun nozzle exit: $n_e\approx n_i \sim 10^{16}$ cm$^{-3}$, $T_e \approx T_i \approx 1.4$ eV, $V_{\rm jet}\approx 30$-100 km/s, mean charge $\bar{Z}\approx 1$, sonic Mach number $M_s\equiv V_{\rm jet}/C_s>10$, jet diameter $=5$ cm, and jet length $\approx 20$ cm. Experiments to date have focused on the study of merging-jet dynamics and the shocks that form as a result of the interaction, in both collisional and collisionless regimes with respect to the inter-jet classical ion mean free path, and with and without an applied magnetic field. However, many other studies are also possible, as discussed in this paper.
Journal of Plasma Physics 08/2014;
• ##### Article: Bifurcations of ion acoustic solitary and periodic waves in an electron–positron–ion plasma through non-perturbative approach
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ABSTRACT: Ion acoustic solitary waves and periodic waves in an unmagnetized plasma with superthermal (kappa-distributed) electrons and positrons are investigated through a non-perturbative approach. Model equations are transformed to a planar dynamical system. Then by using the bifurcations of phase portraits of this planar dynamical system, we have established that our model has solitary wave and periodic wave solutions. We have obtained two analytical solutions for these solitary and periodic waves depending on the parameters. From these solitary wave and periodic wave solutions, we have shown the combined effects of temperature ratio (σ ) of electrons and positrons, spectral index (κ), speed of the traveling wave (v), and density ratio (p) of positrons and electrons on the characteristics of ion acoustic solitary and periodic waves. The spectral index, density ratio, speed of the traveling wave, and temperature ratio significantly affect the characteristics of ion acoustic solitary and periodic structures. The present study might be helpful to understand the salient features of nonlinear ion acoustic solitary and periodic structures in the interstellar medium.
Journal of Plasma Physics 07/2014; 80(04):553-563.
• Source
##### Article: Entanglement of helicity and energy in kinetic Alfven wave/whistler turbulence
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ABSTRACT: The role of magnetic helicity is investigated in kinetic Alfv\'en wave and oblique whistler turbulence in presence of a relatively intense external magnetic field $b_0 {\bf e_\parallel}$. In this situation, turbulence is strongly anisotropic and the fluid equations describing both regimes are the reduced electron magnetohydrodynamics (REMHD) whose derivation, originally made from the gyrokinetic theory, is also obtained here from compressible Hall MHD. We use the asymptotic equations derived by Galtier \& Bhattacharjee (2003) to study the REMHD dynamics in the weak turbulence regime. The analysis is focused on the magnetic helicity equation for which we obtain the exact solutions: they correspond to the entanglement relation, $n+\tilde n = -6$, where $n$ and $\tilde n$ are the power law indices of the perpendicular (to ${\bf b_0}$) wave number magnetic energy and helicity spectra respectively. Therefore, the spectra derived in the past from the energy equation only, namely $n=-2.5$ and $\tilde n = - 3.5$, are not the unique solutions to this problem but rather characterize the direct energy cascade. The solution $\tilde n = -3$ is a limit imposed by the locality condition; it is also the constant helicity flux solution obtained heuristically. The results obtained offer a new paradigm to understand solar wind turbulence at sub-ion scales where it is often observed that $-3 < n < -2.5$.
Journal of Plasma Physics 06/2014;
• ##### Article: Analytical model for gyro-phase drift arising from abrupt inhomogeneity
Journal of Plasma Physics 05/2014; 80(03).
• ##### Article: Comment on `Propagation of solitary waves and shock wavelength in the pair plasma (J. Plasma Phys. 78, 525─529, 2012)'
Journal of Plasma Physics 05/2014; 80(03).
• ##### Article: Examining the range of validity of the Bohm criterion
Journal of Plasma Physics 05/2014; 80(03).