Theory of current-free double layers in plasmas

Abstract

The existence of current-free double layers in unmagnetized plasma is studied by means of the quasipotential method applied to the Vlasov-Poisson system. Crucial for its existence are trapped particle populations that are characterized by notches (dips) in the velocity distribution functions at resonant velocity becoming flat at large amplitude limit. The potential drop across the double layer, or its amplitude ψ, can be arbitrarily strong covering the whole range 0