Experimental and theoretical investigations of plasma multiple double layers and their evolution to chaos

Abstract

We report experimental results showing that a discharge plasma, which self-structures as concentric multiple double layers, is capable of evolving towards chaos through a cascade of spatio-temporal sub-harmonic bifurcations when the applied constraint (in the form of voltage applied on a supplementary electrode immersed in the plasma) is gradually increased. By considering that the plasma particles (electrons, ions and neutrals) move on fractal curves, a theoretical model able to explain both the plasma self-structuring and the scenario of evolution to chaos is constructed. The experimental results were found to be in good agreement with those obtained from the theoretical model.