Structure of a singly ionizing current sheet propagating in a low density gas

Abstract

The structure of a singly ionizing current sheet is examined under steady-state conditions. Convergent solutions are only found in the presence of ambient transverse magnetic and electric fields. A collision-free model is used to approximate to the ionization region in the front. This solution is cut off at the electron mean free path and matched to a collision-dominated magnetohydrodynamic two-fluid calculation for the back of the sheet. The conditions for the establishment of a steady state are examined for these solutions.