Hydrodynamic relaxation of an electron plasma to a near-maximum entropy state

Dynamical relaxation of a pure electron plasma in a Malmberg-Penning trap is studied, comparing experiments, numerical simulations and statistical theories of weakly dissipative two-dimensional (2D) turbulence. Simulations confirm that the dynamics are approximated well by a 2D hydrodynamic model. S...

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Veröffentlicht in:Physical review letters 2009-06, Vol.102 (24), p.244501-244501, Article 244501
Hauptverfasser: Rodgers, D J, Servidio, S, Matthaeus, W H, Montgomery, D C, Mitchell, T B, Aziz, T
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Dynamical relaxation of a pure electron plasma in a Malmberg-Penning trap is studied, comparing experiments, numerical simulations and statistical theories of weakly dissipative two-dimensional (2D) turbulence. Simulations confirm that the dynamics are approximated well by a 2D hydrodynamic model. Statistical analysis favors a theoretical picture of relaxation to a near-maximum entropy state with constrained energy, circulation, and angular momentum. This provides evidence that 2D electron fluid relaxation in a turbulent regime is governed by principles of maximum entropy.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.244501