2016/10/31 by Manasvi Lingam, Eero Hirvijoki, David Pfefferlé +3 · 14 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #Classical mechanics #Electrical resistivity and conductivity #Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Magnetohydrodynamics #Mechanics #Nonlinear system #Physics #Plasma #Quantum mechanics #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Statistical physics #astro-ph.HE #astro-ph.SR #physics.flu-dyn #physics.plasm-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.4980838
published in Physics of Plasmas 24(4) (American Institute of Physics) · 9 pages; 0 figures
arxiv created 2017/03/15 · openalex publication_date 2017/04/01 · arxiv updated 2017/11/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
A new formulation of the plasma resistivity that stems from the collisional momentum-transfer rate between electrons and ions is presented. The resistivity computed herein is shown to depend not only on the temperature and density but also on all other polynomial velocity-space moments of the distribution function, such as the pressure tensor and heat flux vector. The full expression for the collisional momentum-transfer rate is determined and is used to formulate the nonlinear anisotropic resistivity. The new formalism recovers the Spitzer resistivity, as well as the concept of thermal force if the heat flux is assumed to be proportional to a temperature gradient. Furthermore, if the pressure tensor is related to viscous stress, the latter enters the expression for the resistivity. The relative importance of the nonlinear term(s) with respect to the well-established electron inertia and Hall terms is also examined. The subtle implications of the nonlinear resistivity, and its dependence on the fluid variables, are discussed in the context of magnetized plasma environments and phenomena such as magnetic reconnection.