Near-Wall Pathways of Anomalous Electron Transport in Hall Thrusters Revealed by 3D PIC Simulations

TL;DR

This study uses advanced 3D PIC simulations to uncover the detailed spatial pathways of anomalous electron transport in Hall thrusters, revealing persistent near-wall channels connected to the exit region.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed 3D simulation-based visualization of the spatial organization of electron transport pathways in Hall thrusters.

Findings

Anomalous transport occurs in persistent near-wall pathways.

Transport topology is robust across different boundary conditions.

Simulation reveals the spatial organization of instability-driven electron transport.

Abstract

Cross-field electron transport in Hall thrusters is widely attributed to high-frequency $E\times B$ instabilities, yet its net spatial pathway remains poorly resolved. Here we perform instability-resolving three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of a Hall thruster using a boundary-faithful and highly integrated framework. The model incorporates a realistic magnetic-field configuration, self-consistent dielectric wall charging, secondary electron emission, Monte Carlo ionization collisions, a self-consistent continuum neutral-gas evolution model, and an open near-plume outflow treatment. From the strongly oscillatory three-dimensional fields, we extract the net instability-driven transport by time and azimuthal averaging of the correlation term $\langle n_e E_y\rangle$ and the corresponding effective perpendicular mobility. The simulations reveal that anomalous electron transport is not distributed uniformly across the channel cross section. Instead, it self-organizes into persistent near-wall pathways connected to the near-exit region. By comparing conducting-wall, ceramic-wall-with-secondary-emission, and open-outflow closures, we show that the near-wall transport topology is robust, while the boundary treatment mainly redistributes the detailed strength of the pathway and its coupling to the exit and near-plume region. These results demonstrate a previously unresolved spatial organization of instability-driven anomalous transport in Hall thrusters and highlight the unique role of 3D PIC simulations in revealing it.