2025/01/10 by Yinjian Zhao, Zhao, Yinjian, Baisheng Wang +3
Chemistry · Engineering · #Electrohydrodynamics and Fluid Dynamics #FOS: Physical sciences #Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications #Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph) #Power Transformer Diagnostics and Insulation
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2501.05785
openalex publication_date 2025/01/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Hollow cathodes are becoming the bottleneck of many electric propulsion systems, because of the sputtering and erosion on both cathodes and thrusters from the generation of anomalously energetic ions. So far, it is believed that energetic ions are formed by waves and instabilities always accompanied in cathode discharge, but there is no evidence yet that those proposed instabilities can lead to such high ion energies measured in experiments. In this work, a new mechanism of charge separation instability in hollow cathode plume is found via fully kinetic PIC simulations, which can easily produce energetic ions to the same level as measured in experiments.