Modeling of a helicon plasma source

A helicon gas discharge is used in the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) to initiate plasmas. The overall performance of the VASIMR thruster depends upon the efficiency of the helicon plasma source. A set of various models is proposed to facilitate our understanding of recent experimental data. These models range from 0-D plasma-chemistry model of the discharge to more elaborate fully kinetic models of neutral gas and plasma dynamics under typical VASIMR thruster conditions.