Observation of Collisionless Electrostatic Shocks
- 2 February 1970
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 24 (5), 206-209
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.24.206
Abstract
Large-amplitude ion-acoustic waves () are excited in the University of California, Los Angeles double-plasma device by the interpenetration of two plasmas with high electron-to-ion temperature ratios (). A compressional wave with a ramp shape is found to steepen in a fashion consistent with the classical overtaking predicted by the usual Riemann invariants. This steepening continues until dispersive short scale () oscillations develop at the front. Ions streaming in front of the shock are also observed.
Keywords
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- Observation of First-Order Ion Energy Distribution in Ion-Acoustic WavesPhysical Review Letters, 1969
- Experiments on Shock Formation in a Q-DevicePhysics of Fluids, 1968
- Evolution of a Nonlinear Ion Acoustic WavePhysical Review Letters, 1967
- Collisionless shock waves in high β plasmas: 1Published by American Geophysical Union (AGU) ,1967
- Propagation of Ion-Acoustic Solitary Waves of Small AmplitudePhysical Review Letters, 1966
- Landau Damping of Ion Acoustic Waves in Highly Ionized PlasmasPhysical Review B, 1964
- Collisionless shock waves in a plasma in a weak magnetic fieldJournal of Nuclear Energy. Part C, Plasma Physics, Accelerators, Thermonuclear Research, 1963