Abstract:
The problem of a rarefied plasma jet emerging from a stationary plasma engine is considered. The consideration is carried out entirely at the kinetic level; namely, the motion of all plasma components is described in terms of distribution functions. The system of kinetic equations should be solved together with Maxwell’s equations. Methods for solving the resulting problem are discussed.
Key words:plasma; electronic, ionic, and neutral components of plasma; distribution functions of electronic, ionic, and neutral components of plasma; electric field; Debye length; Poisson’s equation; Langmuir oscillations; quasi-neutrality.
