Coaxial plasma accelerator in the snowplow mode: Analytical solution in the weak coupling limit

Abstract

The analytical solution of the system of coupled ordinary differential equations which describes the time evolution of an ideal coaxial plasma gun operating in the snowplow mode is obtained in the weak coupling limit, i.e., when the gun is fully influenced by the driving circuit but the circuit is negligibly influenced by the gun. Criteria are derived for the validity of this limit, and numerical examples are presented. Finally, sample applications to calculating maximum plasma speed and gun efficiency are presented.