Electron kinetic effects in plasma expansion and ion acceleration

The one-dimensional expansion of a plasma slab is studied using a kinetic description of the electrons based on an adiabatic invariant. The distribution function of the electrons is determined at any time and any position. Solution of the Poisson equation then enables us to determine the electric potential and the ion acceleration. Special attention is devoted to the disassembly time of the plasma slab which appears shorter than expected, due to the distortion of the electron distribution function. The spatial structures of the ion and electron densities and velocities are presented, together with a prediction of the maximum ion velocity. The model is compared to particle-in-cell simulations and excellent agreement is found.