Criteria to define a pair-ion plasma and the role of electrons in nonlinear dynamics

TL;DR

This paper establishes criteria for defining pure pair-ion plasmas, emphasizing the role of lighter elements and electrons, and derives nonlinear equations describing their dynamics, highlighting differences from traditional plasma models.

Contribution

It introduces a criterion for pure pair-ion plasma definition, discusses electron presence in experiments, and derives nonlinear equations for plasma dynamics without drift waves.

Findings

Lighter elements like H and He are suitable for PI plasma production.

Electron presence is confirmed in fullerene plasma experiments.

Derived nonlinear equations resemble Hasegawa-Mima form but lack drift wave terms.

Abstract

A criterion to define a pure pair-ion (PI) plasma is presented. It is suggested that the lighter elements (like H and He) are more suitable to produce PI plasmas. The observation of ion acoustic wave (IAW) in recent experiments with fullerene plasmas clearly indicates the presence of electrons in the system. A set of two coupled non-linear differential equations has been obtained for PI plasma dynamics. In moving frame, it can be reduced to a form similar to Hasegawa-Mima equation but it does not contain drift wave.