Finite Mass Electron Fluid Simulation Of Low Frequency Electromagnetic Waves In Magnetized Plasmas

A finite-mass fluid electron model has been developed for simulating low-frequency electromagnetic waves in finite-β magnetized plasmas. Here,β is the ratio between plasma and magnetic pressures. It is demonstrated in slab geometry that the model successfully exhibits the linear properties of both the kinetic and inertial Alfven waves as well as the theoretically predicted collisionless tearing mode instability.Linear behaviors of kinetic and inertial Alfven waves (K/IAW) in a sheared magnetic field are investigated via this finite-mass fluid electron model in finite-βmagnetized plasmas, and it is found that the KAW and IAW propagate in opposite directions after mode conversion. When βe>>me/mi, here, me/mi is the mass ratio between electron and ion, the KAW propagates towards the singular surface where kⅡ=0. Here, kⅡis the wavenumber parallel to the confining magnetic field. Near the singular surface, the KAW resonates with the electron parallel motion and deposits energy accordingly. Without the electron inertial term, the KAW will keep on propagating to the singular surface. When βe<<me/mi, the IAW, instead, propagates away from the singular surface.Finally, we give a brief conclusion of our work and suggest some future plans for the extension of the present work.