The interaction between a plasma and a solid surface is studied in a (1D–1V) kinetic framework using a localized particle and convective energy source. Matching the quasineutral plasma region and sheath horizon is addressed in the fluid framework with a zero heat flux closure. It highlights non-polytropic nature of the physics of parallel transport. Shortfalls of this approach compared to a reference kinetic simulation highlight the importance of the heat flux as the measure of kinetic effects. Non-collisional closure and higher moment closure are used to determine the sound velocity. Within these frameworks, no gain in the fluid predictive capability is obtained. The kinetic constraint at the sheath horizon is discussed and modified to account for conditions that are actually met in simulations, namely quasineutrality with a small but finite charge density. Analyzing the distribution functions shows that collisional transfer is mandatory to achieve steady-state self-organization on the open field lines.
This paper investigates the interaction between a plasma and a solid surface using a kinetic framework. It highlights the importance of heat flux in capturing kinetic effects and discusses the use of non-collisional and higher moment closures to determine the sound velocity. The paper also analyzes the distribution functions and emphasizes the need for collisional transfer to achieve steady-state self-organization on open field lines.