Nonlinear regimes of the electron cyclotron drift instability in Vlasov simulations

TL;DR

This paper investigates the nonlinear behavior of the electron cyclotron drift instability using Vlasov simulations, revealing energy condensation into low resonance modes and distinct saturation characteristics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Vlasov simulation approach to study the nonlinear regimes of the electron cyclotron drift instability, highlighting inverse energy cascade phenomena.

Findings

Energy condenses into lowest resonance modes

Inverse energy cascade observed in nonlinear regime

Saturation state differs from ion-sound regime

Abstract

We report on a novel investigation of the nonlinear regime of the electron cyclotron drift instability, using a grid-based Vlasov simulation. It is shown that the instability occurs as a series of cyclotron resonances with the electron beam mode due to the $E\times B$ drift. In the nonlinear regime, we observe condensation of fluctuations energy toward the lowest resonance mode and below, i.e., an inverse energy cascade. It is shown that the characteristics of the nonlinear saturation state remain far from the ion-sound regime.