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Counter-rotating density and current structures in a partially magnetized E×B plasma

Pengze Xiao, Ya Zhang, Hongyu Wang, Wei Jiang, Jean-Pierre Boeuf

physics.plasm-pharXiv:2608.27853

Abstract

The first 3D kinetic simulation of a magnetron discharge reproduces the measured rotating spoke and reveals that density and current rotate in opposite directions: the m=1 spoke turns in the E×B direction at 90~kHz while m16 electron-cyclotron-drift-type filaments turn at 1.0~MHz, with no net propagation along B. Magnetic drifts exchange far more energy than they deposit, yet their spoke-front heating sustains the ionization. Following helical paths, the anode-directed current is relayed by de-trapping turbulence at the sheath edge (50\%) and by the spoke channel in the bulk (97\%).

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