Drift Motion of Charged Particles in Inhomogeneous Magnetic and Strong Electric Fields

Abstract: Distinctive features of the drift motion of a nonrelativistic charged particle in slowly varying magnetic and strong electric fields, for which the assumption that the electric drift velocity is small as compared to the total particle velocity is non-applicable, are studied. The variational principles of the drift motion are extended to the case of the strong electric field. The generalized Littlejohn’s Lagrangian is obtained and the extended set of drift equations is derived. The possibility of particle acceleration due to the drift motion along the strong electric field is demonstrated. © 2020, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.