Comment on “Debye shielding in a nonextensive plasma” [Phys. Plasmas 18, 062102 (2011)]

Abstract

Gougam and Tribeche [Phys. Plasmas 18, 062102 (2011)] revisit the phenomenon of Debye shielding within the theoretical framework of Tsallis statistical mechanics. The effect of electron nonextensivity on the Bohm sheath criterion is also investigated, and a modified critical Mach number is derived. However, their results are questionable, since they are based on a somewhat unjustified assumption about the parameter that specifies the width of the distribution function.