Investigation of temperature anisotropy in highly-magnetized plasma

Abstract

We investigate the temperature anisotropy in highly-magnetized plasma within the framework of kinetic theory. We
explicitly calculate the electronic distribution function for a magnetized plasma, taking into account electron-ion (e-i)
collisions. The basic equation in this investigation is the Fokker-Planck (F-P) equation, where some justified
approximations for fusion and astrophysical magnetized plasmas are used. By computing the second moment of this
distribution function, we have expressed the electron temperatures in the parallel direction as well as in the plane
perpendicular to the magnetic field. We show that the temperature is anisotropic and that this anisotropy is due to a
competition between the magnetic field and the collision effects. We also present the numerical results and interpret them
for illustration. Our theoretical analysis is applicable in wave and instability studies in fusion and astrophysical plasma,
particularly in magnetized inertial fusion (MIF) scheme