Two-stream ion-cyclotron instability in a plasma with magnetic shear

In confined high temperature plasmas carrying a current along the magnetic field, the drift speed is generally greater than the ion thermal speed giving rise to the possibility of current-driven unstable electrostatic ion-cyclotron waves. Such modes are in a uniform plasma embedded in a magnetic field with shear and its non-local behaviour is determined using normal mode analysis. The critical drift speed necessary for the onset of the instability is obtained and the characteristics are ascertained of the mode in the non-linear limit.