Formation of dc Potential Structure Due to Current-Driven Electrostatic lon-Gyclotron Instability

Formation of dc potential structure due to current-driven electrostatic ion-cyclotron instabilities has been investigated by means of an open boundary two-and-a-half dimensional electrostatic particle in cell (PIC) simulation model. A dc potential difference is built up as a fluctuation associated with an ion-cyclotron wave induced by streaming electrons grows. A V-shaped dc potential structure is created for a bell-shaped electron stream, while the dc potential does not have a structure across the magnetic field for a uniform electron stream. Keywords: particle simulation, electrostatic ion-cyclotron instability, potential formation, aurora, kinetic-self-organization. 1. Introdustion Formation of electrostatic potential structures in magnetized plasmas is as yet a challenging problem for generating accelerated charged particles in a space plasma and controlling particle confinement in a fusion