Electric field in spatially inhomogeneous non-neutral plasma

TL;DR

This paper derives a general probability distribution for electric fields in inhomogeneous non-neutral plasmas, accounting for micro and macro fields, and validates it with experiments, aiding plasma diagnostics.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive expression for electric field distribution in non-neutral plasmas considering charge imbalance and micro/macro fields, supported by numerical calculations and experimental validation.

Findings

Distribution function sharpens with increased charge imbalance.

Good agreement between calculated spectral line shifts and experimental data.

Results enhance plasma diagnostic techniques.

Abstract

We present a general expression for the probability distribution function of electric field in a plasma cloud formed by the impact of a laser pulse on a gas or a solid body. We also present the results of numerical calculation of this function for the case of non-interacting particles depending on the plasma cloud size. It takes into account the ionic microfield and the macrofield arising from the charge imbalance. As the charge imbalance increases, the effect of a sharp increase in the distribution function for large field values is observed. Good agreement between the calculation of the shift of the spectral line and the experiment is obtained. The results obtained are of crucial importance for diagnosing plasma in various applications.