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The ongoing development of the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) involves basic physics analysis of its three major components: helicon plasma source, ion cyclotron-resonance heating module, and magnetic nozzle. This paper presents an overview of recent theoretical efforts associated with the project. It includes (1) a first-principle model for helicon plasma source, (2) a nonlinear theory for the deposition of rf-power at the ion cyclotron frequency into plasma flow, and (3) a discussion of the plasma detachment mechanism relevant to VASIMR.
Arefiev et al. (Thu,) studied this question.