A. N. Kozlov
Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Miusskaya pl. 4, Moscow, 125047 Russia
e-mail: kozlov@kiam.ru
Received June 21, 2001; in final form, September 27, 2001
Abstract—A study is made of the interaction of the electron component of a low-density plasma with a mac-
roscopically inhomogeneous, mirror-reflecting surface in mutually orthogonal electric and magnetic fields. The
collisionless kinetic equation is solved analytically in the (2R + 3V)-dimensional space. A nontrivial structure
of the nascent near-wall currents is revealed, and their two-dimensional distribution is analyzed in detail. From
the standpoint of practical applications, attention is focused on the near-wall conductivity in a stationary plasma
thruster. The results obtained agree with the available experimental data. Moreover, the investigations described
here provide a basis for the study of the possibility of tailoring the insulator in the channel for thepurpose of
suppressing anomalous erosion and ensuring the required operating period of plasma thrusters. © 2002 MAIK
“Nauka/Interperiodica”.
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