Moment equation description of Weibel instability

A macroscopic description of the linear Weibel instability, based on a closed set of linear moment equations, is presented. The moment equations are derived from the linearized Vlasov equation by taking the appropriate velocity moments of it and the closure is achieved by means of an assumption, which is justified when the temperature anisotropy is strong. The macroscopic description is manifestly more informative of the physical mechanism of the instability than the kinetic description. It is hoped that the researchers will find such a description analytically more convenient to use in solving plasma physics problems where Weibel instability due to strong temperature anisotropy plays a role. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.