1 research outputs found
Dressed test particles, oscillation centres and pseudo-orbits
A general semi-analytical method for accurate and efficient numerical
calculation of the dielectrically screened ("dressed") potential around a
non-relativistic test particle moving in an isotropic, collisionless,
unmagnetised plasma is presented. The method requires no approximations and is
illustrated using results calculated for two cases taken from the MSc thesis of
the first author: test particles with velocities above and below the ion sound
speed in plasmas with Maxwellian ions and warm electrons. The idea that the
fluctuation spectrum of a plasma can be described as a superposition of the
fields around \emph{non-interacting} dressed test particles is an expression of
the quasiparticle concept, which has also been expressed in the development of
the oscillation-centre and pseudo-orbit formalisms.Comment: 14 pages to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion for publication with
a cluster of papers associated with workshop Stability and Nonlinear Dynamics
of Plasmas, October 31, 2009 Atlanta, GA on occasion of the 65th birthday of
R.L. Dewar. Version 2: Reference [27] added in Sec. 5. Version 3: Revised in
response to referee