Numerical study on the stability of weakly collisional plasma in E×B fields

Plasma stability in weakly collisional plasmas in the presence of E×B fields is studied with numerical simulations. Different types of ion-neutral collisions are considered in a fully magnetized regime. We study the influence of ion-neutral collisions and the role of collision types on the stability of plasma. It is found that the stability of plasma depends on the type of ion-neutral collisions, with the plasma being unstable for charge exchange collisions, and stable for the elastic scattering. The analysis focuses on the temporal evolution of the velocity phase space, RMS values of the potential fluctuations, and coherent structures in potential densities. For the unstable case, we observe growth and propagation of electrostatic waves. Simulations are performed with a three-dimensional electrostatic particle in cell code.