Generation of magnetic fields in plasmas

Sammanfattning: Relativistic and non-relativistic plasma outflows are quite ubiquitous in astrophysical scenarios, as well as in laboratory plasmas. The propagation of relativistic and non- relativistic charged particle beams in background plasmas provides return currents in the opposite direction and interactions between the currents then drive several plasma instabilities involving the longitudinal (electrostatic instabilities) and trans- verse (electromagnetic instability) modes. Such instabilities have been accepted as possible mechanisms for generating spontaneous magnetic fields in extreme astrophysical environments, such as the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), pulsar magnetosphere, active galactic nuclei (AGN), as well as in laboratory plasmas such as those in inertial confinement fusion schemes.In the present thesis, we have studied several aspects of waves and instabilities in both unmagnetized and magnetized plasmas. We have calculated the linear growth rates of the plasma instabilities that can occur in the presence of counter-propagating anisotropic plasmas (the Weibel instability/filamentation instability) in an unmagnetized plasma, due to the counter-streaming of electrons and positrons in uniform and nonuniform magnetoplasmas, and by a nonstationary ponderomotive force of an electromagnetic wave in a warm plasma.Comprehensive analytical and numerical studies of plasma instabilities have been made to understand possible mechanisms for purely growing magnetic fields in the presence of mobile/immobile ions and (or) cold/mildly hot electron beams. The theory has been developed for a proper understanding of fast as well as slow phenomena in plasmas by using the kinetic, fluid and magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) approaches. Specific applications are presented, including inertial confinement fusion; Gamma- rays bursts (GRBs), and pulsar magnetosphere.We have also studied new and purely growing modes in quantum-plasmas, which happen to be a rapidly growing emerging subfield of plasma physics. We have investigated an oscillatory instability involving dust acoustic-like waves due to a relative drift between the ions and the charged dust particles in quantum dusty magneto-plasma. This study can be of importance in semiconductor plasmas or in astrophysical plasmas, such as those in the cores of white dwarfs.