Penrose criterion

In plasma physics, the Penrose criterion is a rule for the kinetic stability of a plasma with a given velocity-space distribution function. This criterion can be used to determine that all so-called "single-humped" distributions (those with a single maximum), are kinetically stable. It is not employed in accounting for the electric field.^[1] The criterion is named after Oliver Penrose who proposed it in 1960.^[2]^[1]

References

^ a b Beving, L. P.; Hopkins, M. M.; Baalrud, S. D. (November 2023). "Electron-field instability: Excitation of electron plasma waves by an electric field". Physics of Plasmas. 30 (11). Bibcode:2023PhPl...30k2105B. doi:10.1063/5.0156041.
^ Penrose, Oliver (1 March 1960). "Electrostatic Instabilities of a Uniform Non-Maxwellian Plasma". The Physics of Fluids. 3 (2): 258–265. doi:10.1063/1.1706024. ISSN 0031-9171. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2025.

Nicholson, Dwight R. (1983). Introduction to Plasma Theory. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-09045-8.

This plasma physics–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[:0-1] Beving, L. P.; Hopkins, M. M.; Baalrud, S. D. (November 2023). "Electron-field instability: Excitation of electron plasma waves by an electric field". Physics of Plasmas. 30 (11). Bibcode:2023PhPl...30k2105B. doi:10.1063/5.0156041.

[2] Penrose, Oliver (1 March 1960). "Electrostatic Instabilities of a Uniform Non-Maxwellian Plasma". The Physics of Fluids. 3 (2): 258–265. doi:10.1063/1.1706024. ISSN 0031-9171. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2025.