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Density gradient driven instability in an E→×B→

plasma system having temperature gradients

Munish, Rajat Dhawan, Ravinder Kumar & Hitendra K. Malik

To cite this article: Munish, Rajat Dhawan, Ravinder Kumar & Hitendra K. Malik (2022) Density
gradient driven instability in an E→×B→ plasma system having temperature gradients, Journal
of Taibah University for Science, 16:1, 725-731, DOI: 10.1080/16583655.2022.2108303

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JOURNAL OF TAIBAH UNIVERSITY FOR SCIENCE
2022, VOL. 16, NO. 1, 725–731
https://doi.org/10.1080/16583655.2022.2108303

RESEARCH ARTICLE

 plasma system having

Density gradient driven instability in an E × B
temperature gradients
Munish a,b , Rajat Dhawan a , Ravinder Kumar c and Hitendra K. Malik a

a PWAPA Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India; b Department of Physics, Gargi College,
University of Delhi, Delhi, India; c Department of Physics, Janta Vedic College Baraut, Baghpat, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

A theoretical model is developed to investigate the density gradient driven instability in an E × B Received 27 August 2021
plasma system with the consideration of finite temperature of both the electrons and the ions Revised 29 June 2022
where these species are magnetized. The dependence of temperature of the electrons and ions, Accepted 18 July 2022
charge of the ions, plasma background density, and strength of magnetic field on the variation of KEYWORDS
normalized growth rate has been investigated and portrayed for different channel lengths. The Density gradient driven
ion temperature gradient that generally exists in the considered plasma systems is also included instability; channel length;
to investigate its impact on the growth rate of the instability. E × B plasma; temperature
gradient; magnetic field

1. Introduction
From the last more than two decades, Hall thrusters
have been widely adopted among several propulsion
devices because of their higher thrust to power ratio
and lower input power. Hall thrusters find diverse
applications in commercial space missions and also in
telecommunication satellites [1]. On account of elec-
trons’ azimuthal drift, they are termed as closed drift
thrusters. Depending on the framework and material
of the discharged channel, thrusters are of usually
two types: Anode Layer Thruster and Magnetic Layer
Thruster. The latter is comprised of one expanded accel-
eration channel, whereas the former is composed of
two-stage channels for acceleration and ionization sep-
arately, which are separated by an electrode [2, 3].
Because of the existence of radial magnetic field and
axial electric field, Hall thrusters provide large thrust
density and a high impulse. This in turn results in the
acceleration of propellants to an immense velocity.
Both acceleration and ionization of the propellant are
achieved inside the insulated discharge region (cylindri-
cal chamber), called a channel, in the existence of radial
magnetic field and axial electric field. The erosion of the
channel walls may occur due to the bombardment of
the ions and the electrons. Consequently, the lifetime
and efficiency of Hall thrusters may be affected signifi-
cantly [3, 4]. Moreover, a disruption in the communica-
tion through satellites may occur because of the electro-
static charging, produced due to the existence of exten-
sive exhaust beam divergence [5]. Therefore, several
imperative parameters like optimum thrust to power
ratio, minimum erosion rate, lower beam divergence,
etc. are required to be analyzed for establishing a
hassle-free and an effective thruster’s operation. Dis-
tinct varieties of the instabilities are originated from the
oscillations developed in the chamber.
Several varieties of discharge instabilities originated
in Hall thrusters, within the domain of 103 –109 Hz,
have been discussed by Choueiri [2]. The growth of
Rayleigh instability in a Hall thruster channel in the
presence of dust has been investigated by Malik et al.
[6]. The transport and characteristics effects of the
electron drift instability in Hall-effect thrusters were
explored by Lafleur et al. [7]. High-frequency insta-
bility and phenomena of electron transport in a Hall
thruster have been investigated by Lazurenko et al. [8].
With the negligence of thermal motion of the plasma
species, Litvak and Fisch [9] have analytically investi-
gated the gradient-driven Rayleigh-type instabilities in
Hall thrusters. The numerical study of low-frequency
oscillations in Stationary Plasma Thruster (SPT) have
been carried out by Chable and Rogier [10].
In the azimuthal direction, an electric field is gener-
ated because of the difference in electron and ion drift
velocities in the Hall thrusters. In the same direction, it
leads to the generation of the electrostatic waves. In
the plasma, such waves could absorb free energy from
the density gradient, built-up and lead to instability.
Therefore, with the extensive interpretation of physi-
cal phenomena accountable for such instabilities, we
can have a better analysis of efficiency of Hall thrusters.
Hence, with the development of these devices, the
concern of investigation of instabilities has always
been the centre of attention for several researchers

CONTACT Hitendra K. Malik hkmalik@physics.iitd.ac.in, hkmalik@hotmail.com PWAPA Laboratory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of
Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110 016, India
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
726 MUNISH ET AL.

[11–14]. Barral and Ahedo [15] have been developed a system, i.e. space coordinates are chosen to be varied in
low-frequency approach of breathing oscillations. Bar- the x – and y – directions.
ral and Peradzynski [16] have investigated the low- In the present model, mj is the mass, Tj is the temper-
frequency oscillations under the impact of ionization. ature and nj is the density of the ions (j = i) and the elec-
In the strong magnetic field regimes, Meezan et al. [17] trons (j = e). −e and Ze, respectively, are the charges of
have investigated the impact of fluctuations to elec- the electrons and the ions. V and U depict the velocities
tron transport. In a coaxial E × B discharge plasma, an of the ions and the electrons, respectively. The oscillat-
approach to determine the azimuthal drift current has ing and un-perturbed parts of densities are represented
been devised by Thomas et al. [18]. By dealing with by (ni1 , ne1 ) and (ni0 , ne0 ) respectively, whereas those
the finite temperature of electrons, a theoretical model of velocities are represented by (Vx1 , Ux1 , Vy1 , Uy1 ) and
has been presented by Kapulkin and Guelman [19] to (Vx0 , Ux0 , Vy0 , Uy0 ), respectively. The electric field has its
analyse the low-frequency instabilities around anode oscillating value as E1 and the associated potential is ϕ1 .
regime. On the other hand, Sedighi et al. [20, 21] have The oscillating quantities are taken to vary as ei(ωt − ky) ,
investigated relevant instabilities in fluid-conveying C- where ω is the frequency of oscillations and k is the
BN hybrid – or hetero-nanotube under a magneto- wavenumber associated with the oscillations of wave-
thermal environment. Makinde et al. [22] have inves- length λ.
tigated the role of transverse magnetic field on the Continuity equations and equations of motion for
development of steady flow regime for an incompress- both the ion and electron fluids, in the linearized form,
ible fluid in the boundary layer limit of a semi-infinite are written as
vertical plate. Khurana et al. [23] have used linear the-
ory based on normal mode to study the magneto-
2.1. For ions
convection influenced by a gyrotactic behaviour of algal
suspensions along with rotation in the nanoliquid layer. Continuity equation
In this paper, we have developed a theoretical model
for analyzing density gradient driven instabilities in an ∂ni1 ∂Vx1 ∂ni0
+ ni0 + Vx1
E × B plasma where a gradient exists in the ion and ∂t ∂x ∂x
electron temperature. This is inspired due to the fact ∂Vy1 ∂ni1
+ ni0 + Vy0 =0 (1)
that under the action of cross field, the plasma species ∂y ∂y
can have different drifts and collisions because of which
there are fair chances of energy exchange and alter- The x-component of the equation of motion
ation of their distribution. This can lead to the gradient ∂Vx1 ∂Vx1 Ze ∂ϕ1 Ze
in temperature of the ions and electrons. In the pro- + Vy0 + − (Vy0 + Vy1 )B0
∂t ∂y mi ∂x mi
posed system two types of gradient-driven instabilities  
2Ti ∂ni0 ∂ni1 2 ∂Ti
are found to evolve, out of which one grows with a + + + =0 (2)
very small rate and hence, is not evaluated in detail. mi ni ∂x ∂x mi ∂x
The growth rate is investigated through the solution of
The y-component of the equation of motion
the dispersion equation. The magnitude of normalized
growth rate is determined and depicted as a function of ∂Vy1 ∂Vy0 ∂Vy1 Ze ∂ϕ1 Ze
the magnetic field, charge on ions, ion temperature gra- + Vx1 + Vy0 + + Vx1 B0
∂t ∂x ∂y mi ∂y mi
dient, channel length, background plasma density and 2Ti ∂ni1
temperature of the ions and electrons. The finding of + =0 (3)
mi ni ∂y
this work shall play an imperative role in the technolo-
gies like electric propulsion [24] and magnetized plasma
sources used in plasma material interaction / surface 2.2. For electrons
processing [25–28]. Continuity equation

∂ne1 ∂Ux1 ∂Uy1

+ ne0 + ne0
∂t ∂x ∂y
2. Mathematical formulation
∂ne0 ∂ne1
In the present work, we have considered both the + Ux1 + Uy0 =0 (4)
∂x ∂y
ions and the electrons to be magnetized under the
impact of the external magnetic field (B0 ), applied in The x-component of equation of motion
the z-direction. We have assumed non-zero tempera-
tures of both the ions and the electrons; thus, a non- ∂Ux1 ∂Ux1 e ∂ϕ1 e
+ Uy0 − + (Uy0 + Uy1 )B0
zero pressure-gradient term has been considered in the ∂t ∂y me ∂x me
 
respective fluid equations. The two-dimensional adia- 2Te ∂ne0 ∂ne1 2 ∂Te
+ + + =0 (5)
batic approximation is adopted to investigate the given me ne ∂x ∂x me ∂x
 JOURNAL OF TAIBAH UNIVERSITY FOR SCIENCE 727

The y-component of the equation of motion
∂Uy1 ∂Uy0 ∂Uy1 e ∂ϕ1
+ Ux1 + Uy0 − me e ε0 ) + (ikne0 e3 B2o /A1 B1 m2e 2e ε0 ), U1 = 1 − (eB0 /
∂t ∂x ∂y me ∂y
e 2Te ∂ne1
− Ux1 B0 + =0
me me ne ∂y
Here, e = (eB0 /me ) and i = (ZeB0 /mi ), respec-
tively, are the electron-cyclotron and ion-cyclotron fre-
quencies. This can be noted that the ion and electron
temperature gradients are also retained in the respec-
tive equation of motions, since the plasma species in the
considered plasma systems carry finite temperatures
and the temperature also shows a spatial variation. The
temperature is taken to have a gradient only in the axial
direction, i.e. x-axis. The temperature gradient has also
been seen in other fluidic motions [29, 30]. The ions and
electrons have E × B drifts in the y-direction.
The above equations (1)–(6) are solved for the oscil-
lating quantities and relations are obtained for the per-
turbed densities ne1 and ni1 in terms of the oscillat-
ing potential ϕ1 . We define A1 = iω − ikUy0 , B1 = 1 +
(2Te k2 /A1 me ω), ωe = (ne0 e2 /me ε0 )(1/2) , A = iω − ik
ωi2 ) + 2(i /ωi2 )(∂Vy0 /∂x) + (Z2 e2 B20 /m2i ωi2 ), T1 = (ik
ne0 e2 B0 /A1 B1 me 2e ε0 )(∂Uy0 /∂x) + (2ikne0 e2 B0 /A1 B1
me 2e )(∂Uy0 /∂x) + (2eB0 /me e ), W1 = 1 + (42e /ωe2 )
(6) − (2e /ωe2 )(∂Uy0 /∂x) and X1 = 1 + (42e /ωe2 ) − (eB0 /
me ωe2 )(∂Uy0 /∂x).
In the acceleration channel, the electron density,
the ion density, the electron drift velocity and ion drift
velocity have been assumed to follow

x 2
A0 = A00 exp −10 (9)
d
Here, the peak values of ne0 , ni0 , U0 and V0 are repre-
sented by A00 . Using the above velocities and densities
profiles, the un-perturbed part of Equation (8) is solved
to get the growth rate of the instabilities. After some
mathematical calculations and arranging the terms, the
following dispersion equation is obtained
G1 ω6 + G2 ω5 + G3 ω4 + G4 ω3 + G5 ω2 + G6 ω + G7 = 0
(10)
where G1 = QLiF, G2 = B iLF + QLX + QKiF, G3 = A
 

Vy0 , B = 1 + (2Ti k2 /A mi ω) and ωi = (ni0 e2 /mi ε0 )(1/2) , LFi + B LX  + B KFi + QLY  + QKX  , G4 = A LX  + A KFi
and put the expressions of ne1 and ni1 in the following + B LY  + QLZ  + QY  K + PIC  Li, G5 = A LY  + A KX  +
Poisson’s equation B LZ  + B KY  + QKZ  + PIC  Ki − BNLPIi + PIDC  L, G6 =
A LZ  + A KY  + B KZ  − BNKPIi + PIDC  K − PIDBNL
ε0 ∇ 2 ϕ1 = −Zeni1 + ene1 (7) and G7 = A KZ  − PIDBNK.
Here, A = MN − QN2 , B = Mi − 2iNQ, C  = AN −
Hence, we obtain
Bi, X  = iG, Y  = iH + CG + EG, Z  = CH + EH, Q = (2Ti
 2  
∂ ϕ1 2 ∂ 2 ϕ1 ne0 e2 ik/Q1 mi 2i )[(2Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0 /mi i 0 ) + (Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0 /mi
− k ϕ1 +
∂x2 ∂x 2 X1 A1 B1 0 me ωe 2i 0 )(∂Vy0 /∂x)], P = (2Te ke/me 0 )(∂ne0 /∂x), N = −ik
   Vy0 ,
Z2 e2 ni0 Z 2 2
e n i0 ω i
− + k2 ϕ1 
S1 A B mi ωi ε0 A B mi 2i ε0 2Ti ∂ni0 2Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0
  M=− 
ZeikP1 ωi ikT1 ωe e V1 e2 B0 ik Q mi ni0 i ∂x mi i 0
+ ϕ1 − +   2 2
Q1 mi 2i U1 me 2e W1 X1 m2e ωe Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0 ∂Vy0 2Ti ZeB0 2Z e ikni0 B0
 + −
2Ti P1 ∂ni0 2P1 ∂Ti mi i 0
2 ∂x 
Q mi i ni0
2 2 mi i 0
+ − − 
Q1 mi ni0 i ∂x Q1 i mi ∂x Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0 ∂Vy0 2Ti Zeik ∂ni0
+ +
2Ti P1 ZeB0 ∂ni0 2P1 ZeB0 ∂Ti mi i 0
2 ∂x mi i 0 ∂x
− −
Q1 mi i ni0
2 2 ∂x Q1 m2i 2i ∂x 
2ikZ 2 e2 Ti B0 ∂ni0 2 ∂Ti 2Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0
2Ti Zeik ∂ni0 2ikni0 Ze ∂Ti + − 
+ +   m2i 2i 0 ∂x Q mi ∂x mi i 0
A B mi i ε0 ∂x A B mi i ε0 ∂x 
Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0 ∂Vy0 2Ze B0 ∂Ti
2ikZ2 e2 Ti B0 ∂ni0 2ikZ2 e2 ni0 B0 ∂Ti + −  2 2
+ + mi 2i 0 ∂x Q mi i ∂x
A B m2i 2i ε0 ∂x A B m2i 2i ε0 ∂x  
(2T1 Te ikeB0 ) (2P1 Ti kω2 ) 2Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0 Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0 ∂Vy0
+ − × +
(W1 X1 (me ωe ) ) (Q1 mi 2i ωi )
2 mi i 0 mi 2i 0 ∂x
 2ikni0 Ze ∂Ti 2Z 2 e2 ikni0 B0 ∂Ti
2ikni0 Ze ∂Ti ∂Vy0 + +
+   =0 (8) mi 0 ∂x m2i 2i 0 ∂x
A B mi 2i ε0 ∂x ∂x
2ikni0 Ze ∂Vy0 ∂Ti
+ ,
Here P1 = (2Z2 e2 ikni0 B0 /A B mi i ε0 ) + (Z3 e3 ikni0 mi 2i 0 ∂x ∂x
B0 /A B m2i 2i ε0 ) + (Z2 e2 ikni0 B0 /A B mi 2i ε0 )(∂Vy0 /
2

∂x), Q1 = 1 + (2ZeB0 /mi i ) + (Z2 e2 B20 /m2i 2i ) + (Ze Q = 1 + (2ZeB0 /mi i ) + (Z2 e2 B20 /m2i 2i ) + (ZeB0 /mi
B0 /mi 2i )(∂Vy0 /∂x), S1 = 1 + (2i /ωi2 ) + (2ZeB0 i /mi 2i )(∂Vy0 /∂x), L = i + (2Te k2 /me 2e ), K = −(2Te k2 ik
728 MUNISH ET AL.

Uy0 /me 2e ) − ikUy0 , J = 2eB0 e me + 2e2 B20 − 2eB0 me

(∂Uy0 /∂x), I = me ne0 2e , H = − ikUy0 me ne0 2e D − 2Te k4
2 , G = iDm n 2 − 4T k 3 n U + kU m n 2 ,
ne0 Uy0 e e0 e e e0 y0 y0 e e0 e
F = −2Te k2 ne0 − me ne0 2e , E = (e2 B20 − eB0 me (∂Uy0 /
∂x)/m2e e ), D = −ikVy0 , C = −ikVy0 , B = ikVy0 + (2Ti ik3
Vy0 /mi 2i ) and A = i + (2Ti ik2 /mi 2i ).

3. Results and discussion

The above-defined dispersion equation, i.e. Equation
(10) has been solved numerically to determine the
growth rate of instabilities for various parameters like
plasma background density, ion temperature, electron
temperature, ion temperature gradient, magnetic field,
charge on ions and channel length. In Figures 1–4, the
growth rate of the instability has been normalized with
the ion-plasma frequency (ωi ). The behaviour of the nor-
malized growth rate as a function of the magnetic field
(in Tesla) for different charge of the ions (Z) is investi-
gated and portrayed in Figure 1 with (i) channel length
(d) = 2.5 m and (ii) d = 5 m. The magnitude of normal-
ized growth rate is found to diminish with increasing
magnetic field and higher charge of the ions for both

Figure 2. Normalized growth rate as a function of ion tem-

perature gradient (in eV/m) for different values of x with (i)
channel length (d) = 2.5 m and (ii) d = 5 m, when λ = 5 cm,
ne00 = ni00 = 1018 m−3 , Ti = 0.3 eV, Te = 1.5 eV, mi = 1.6.
kg, Vy00 = 103 m/s, Uy00 = 105 m/s, Z = 1 and B = 1 T.

the cases of channel length. The reduction in the growth

Figure 1. Normalized growth rate as a function of magnetic
field (in Tesla) for different charge on ions (Z) with (i) channel
length (d) = 2.5 m and (ii) d = 5 m, when λ = 5 cm, x = λ/4,
ne00 = ni00 = 1018 m−3 , Ti = 0.3 eV, Te = 1.5 eV, mi = 1.6.
kg, Vy00 = 103 m/s, Uy00 = 105 m/s and Ti /x = 1 eV/m.
rate with the magnetic field is consistent to the observa-
tion of Pachauri et al. [31], who considered dust in the
system; the result with higher charge also matches with
their finding. Also, a slight reduction in the normalized
growth rate is observed for the enlarged channel length
from 2.5 m to 5 m. On the other hand, the difference in
the magnitude of normalized growth rate for the dif-
ferent charge of the ions is significantly increased with
increasing magnetic field for d = 2.5 m, whereas, there
is not much enhancement for the case of d = 5 m.
An equal temperature gradient is taken for both the
species and hence, the normalized growth rate is plot-
ted only as a function of the ion temperature gradient
(in eV/m) in Figure 2. This is done for different values
of x, i.e. at different positions in the channel as (i) chan-
nel length d = 2.5 m and (ii) d = 5 m. The magnitude
of the growth rate is found to enhance with an incre-
ment in the ion temperature gradient. This can be seen
from the basic relation (9) that the gradient reduces with
increasing values of x from (λ/2) to λ. Since the cause
for the present instability is the gradient in the temper-
ature as well as in the density, this is expected that the

Figure 3. Normalized growth rate as a function of ion tempera-
ture (in eV) for different electron temperature (Te ) in eV with (i)
channel length (d) = 2.5 m and (ii) d = 5 m when λ = 5 cm,
x = λ/4, ne00 = ni00 = 1018 m−3 , mi = 1.6. kg, Vy00 = 103
m/s, Uy00 = 105 m/s, Z = 1, B = 1 T and Ti /x = 1 eV/m.
Figure 4. Normalized growth rate as a function of background
plasma density (in m−3 ) for different channel lengths (d)
when λ = 5 cm, x = λ/4, Ti = 0.3 eV, Te = 1.5 eV, mi = 1.6.
kg, Vy00 = 103 m/s, Uy00 = 105 m/s, Z = 1, B = 1 T and
Ti /x = 1 eV/m.
instability grows with higher rate for x = (λ/2) . This is
also an important observation that the difference in the
magnitude of the normalized growth rate is decreased
with the increasing gradient. Also, a small reduction
in normalized growth rate is seen for the increased
JOURNAL OF TAIBAH UNIVERSITY FOR SCIENCE 729
channel length from 2.5 m to 5 m, which confirms the
results obtained in Figure 1.
The behaviour of normalized growth rate as a func-
tion of ion temperature (in eV) for different electron
temperature (Te ) in eV is studied through Figure 3 with
(i) channel length d = 2.5 m and (ii) d = 5 m. Larger
growth rate is seen with the increased temperatures of
both the ions and the electrons for both the cases of
channel length. Also, a significant reduction in the mag-
nitude of the normalized growth rate is recorded with
an increased channel length from 2.5 m to 5 m.
Finally in Figure 4, we show the behaviour of normal-
ized growth rate as a function of background plasma
density (in m−3 ) for different channel lengths. Here,
the magnitude of normalized growth rate is found to
increase with the increased background plasma density,
whereas it is reduced with the increased channel length.
This confirms the results obtained in Figures 1–3, which
also portrayed the reduction in normalized growth rate
with the increased channel length. This can also be
seen that the growth rate of the instability almost sat-
urates for the much higher density. An early saturation
takes place for the case of d = 2.5 in comparison to the
case of d = 5. This is due to the stronger density gra-
dient present in the system in the case of d = 2.5 that
the instability grows with higher growth rate and also
saturates early.
The above results show that the instability driven by
the density gradient is very sensitive to the spatial vari-
ation of the ions and electrons temperature also. The
instability does not grow at the same rate throughout
the channel rather it depends on the position where one
observes the same. The plasma density initially raises
the growth of the instability at faster rate, after which
the rate saturates. These results were obtained based
on the linear analysis of the problem. However, comput-
ers (simulation) can do a greater job and provide the
real scenario of the instabilities. This is also true that
it becomes difficult to demarcate various instabilities
while one uses the computer approach, but the present
calculations can easily establish the regions for each
kind of instability. The present calculations showed two
types of the instabilities in the said system, but we plot-
ted the results only for one kind of instability. Actually,
the magnitude of the second kind of instability was very
small in comparison to the discussed instability. Also,
there were some propagating modes as per the disper-
sion equation (10), but their velocity was very small. For
these reasons, we focused only on one instability and
left the discussion on the others. Those small magni-
tude modes and instabilities could be understood as
only the noise in the system and are not expected to
grow sufficiently.
As an application of the present model, we mention
that the E × B plasma is used in Hall thrusters [6, 14,
32] and magnetic nozzle [24, 33] for prolonged space
propulsion/mission. Also, inductively coupled plasma
730 MUNISH ET AL.

along with such a cross field arrangement has been Ux0 x-component of electron velocity
used for etching [34–36], film deposition [37–39] etc. Uy0 y-component of electron velocity
in semiconductor industries. However, in these applica- V0 Ion velocity
tions, only the electrons are magnetized which enhance Vx0 x-component of ion velocity
the plasma production and hence, ultimately control Vy0 y-component of ion velocity
the etching aspect ratio and film quality. Since our cal- Ze Ion charge
culations have shown that such a plasma is susceptible
to the instability if there are gradients in the density Disclosure statement
and temperature of the plasma species, in view of this No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
the current model would enable the experimentalists
to conduct experiments smoothly as they can keep the Funding
system away from the instabilities by generating plasma
Government of India and Government of France (IFCPAR/
with the required properties.
CEFIPRA: Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced
Research) are thankfully acknowledged for providing the
financial support through Indo-French project (Proj-5204-3/
4. Conclusions
RP03052).
Density gradient driven instability in an E × B plasma
system was explored numerically by assuming the finite ORCID
temperature of both the plasma species, i.e. the ions Munish http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4258-5222
and the electrons. All the calculations were performed Rajat Dhawan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7673-0144
Ravinder Kumar http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5241-9255
by considering both the electrons and the ions to be
Hitendra K. Malik http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9432-8140
magnetized. The magnitude of normalized growth rate
was found to increase with an increment in the ion and
the electron temperature and background plasma den-
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