Ponderomotive effects of Alfvén waves in multi-ion species plasmas

Magnetized plasmas found in nuclear fusion and the Earth's ionosphere consist of multiple species, e.g., deuterium-tritium and oxygen-hydrogen, respectively. The ponderomotive force that each species experiences when it interacts with Alfvén waves depends on its cyclotron frequency. Therefore, differing cyclotron frequencies among the species result in them developing different flow patterns that cause a spatial/temporal rearrangement in the species concentration ratio. Analytical expressions are derived for the ponderomotive force experienced by each species due to shear and compressional modes for wave propagation parallel and perpendicular to the confinement magnetic field. The analytical results are used to calculate the effects on the species concentration ratio, including self-consistent electron shielding, for various wave frequencies. The possibility of manipulating the species concentration ratio remotely by a suitable excitation of Alfvén waves is explored.