Effect of a periodic electrostatic potential on magnetized particle transport

A classical trajectory Monte Carlo study is reported regarding the motion of a charged particle that is caused to drift across a magnetic field toward an artificially structured boundary, which produces a spatially periodic electrostatic potential. It is found that, for the system studied, the drift toward the boundary is inhibited if the particle's speed associated with motion parallel to the magnetic field is much larger than the particle's speed associated with cyclotron motion. The results are not dependent on the particle's sign of charge. Possible implications for magnetic confinement of beams or plasmas are discussed.