Computer Simulation of an Ion Beam Antenna

The feasibility of using a modulated beam of ions as an antenna in the magnetosphere is discussed briefly. A computer simulation of an ion beam in a plasma is presented in which the motion of the ions is prescribed while the electrons in the surrounding plasma are represented by concentric charged shells, each of which moves in the self-consistent field set up by the beam and the other shells. By following the motion of the shells on a computer, an attempt is made to estimate the sheath current that is induced in the plasma by the beam.