Model of Background Plasma Conditions in Magnetized Dusty Plasma eXperiment (MDPX) using 2D Kinetic PIC Simulation (Smilei) of Highly Magnetized Low-Temperature Argon Plasma

This study uses the open-source kinetic plasma simulation code Smilei [1] to investigate anisotropic diffusion of ions and electrons in strongly magnetized low-temperature plasmas (MLTPs). The primary goal is to investigate how increasing a unidirectional magnetic field (0–4 T) in a collisional plasma influences the evolution of particle velocity and position distributions, diffusion coefficients, and temperatures. By varying both magnetic field strength and neutral gas density, thereby tuning the Hall parameter, we use Mean Squared Displacement (MSD) plots (@msdanalyzer [2]) to identify signatures of anomalous diffusion and quantify the emergence of anisotropic, non-Gaussian behavior under controlled conditions. The broader implications of these results for edge plasma conditions in fusion devices and for diagnostics development in highly magnetized low-temperature plasmas are also discussed.

[1] arXiv:1702.05128

[2] DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201307172