Two-Dimensional Simulations of Coherent Fluctuation- Driven Transport in a Hall Thruster

This paper presents results and recent progress in two-dimensional hybrid fluid-PIC simulations of a Hall thruster. Motivated by experimental evidence of anomalously high electron mobility across the magnetic field that has been attributed to quasi-coherent fluctuations in the plasma properties, we use the numerical model to resolve azimuthal electron dynamics and study the impact of fluctuations on electron transport. As previously reported, the simulations predict some degree of enhanced transport beyond that due to classical scattering. As before, the simulations predict azimuthally-propagating disturbances. Of particular interest are recent simulations which predict a slow-moving rotating spoke-like disturbance near the thruster anode; while the spoke appears to generate current, it is not clear that the spoke results in anomalous electron transport.