Filamentation instability in a quantum plasma

TL;DR

This paper investigates how quantum effects influence the filamentation instability in cold plasmas, showing that quantum mechanics can suppress growth rates and stabilize certain wave modes, especially in non-relativistic regimes.

Contribution

It provides a quantum hydrodynamic analysis of filamentation instability, highlighting the stabilizing role of quantum effects compared to classical models.

Findings

Quantum effects reduce unstable wave vector domain

Quantum effects lower maximum growth rate

Large wave vector modes are stabilized

Abstract

The growth rate of the filamentation instability triggered when a diluted cold electron beam passes through a cold plasma is evaluated using the quantum hydrodynamic equations. Compared with a cold fluid model, quantum effects reduce both the unstable wave vector domain and the maximum growth rate. Stabilization of large wave vector modes is always achieved, but significant reduction of the maximum growth rate depends on a dimensionless parameter that is provided. Although calculations are extended to the relativistic regime, they are mostly relevant to the non-relativistic one.