Plasma-wall boundary layers.
According to a well established result, boundary layers develop in plasmas near solid surfaces. By means of a one-dimensional two-fluid model, we analyze the influence of charge separation and ion viscosity upon the layer structure. This leads to a critical discussion of the Bohm criterion. We find that, in the viscous limit, quasineutrality holds even at values of the Mach number above unity. A nonlinear boundary value problem is defined. Asymptotic matching techniques are used to resolve the structures of the boundary layers.
Baritello
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Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia and Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Turin, Italy.
Porcelli
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Subba
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