Control of a Uniformly Magnetized Plasma with External Electric Fields

Abstract

Stabilizing plasma dynamics through externally applied electric and magnetic fields is a fundamental control problem. We study this question for a plasma evolving under a uniform external magnetic field. Although the governing dynamics are nonlinear, a linear analysis based on the Laplace-Fourier transform yields actionable insight. In particular, by controlling the location of the roots of the dispersion relation, we propose a general control strategy that restores stability, with the free-streaming solution recovered as a special case. Numerical experiments for Gaussian equilibria and for the Dory-Guest-Harris instability show that the proposed control suppresses the unstable modes and stabilizes the dynamics, in agreement with our theoretical predictions.