Effects of heavy ions on kinetic Alfven waves

Kinetic Alfven Wave (KAW) is one of the low-frequency electromagnetic fluctuations that are identified extensively in space plasmas by in situ observations of satellites and has been an interesting topic for discussion widely in the fields of laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasmas because of its potential importance in plasma particle energization. Some satellite observations show that the number density ratio of the oxygen ions to the ambient plasma is 30% similar to 50%, sometimes, even as high as 80%. In this paper, effects of heavy ion species on KAWs are studied in a low-beta plasma. The results show that heavy ions not only considerably reduce the propagation speed of KAWs, but also remarkably influence the parallel component of perturbed electric field of KAWs (to the ambient magnetic field). The ratio of parallel to perpendicular components of perturbed field decreases (or increases) with the heavy ion abundance for KAWs dominated by the electron inertial length (or by ion acoustic gyroradius). In particular, the resonant condition of KAWs with thermal electrons is modified by the heavy ion species.

Kinetic Alfven Waves Excited by Cometary Newborn Ions with Large Perpendicular Energies

Stability of the kinetic Alfven wave in a plasma of hydrogen, oxygen and electrons is studied. Each species is modeled by drifting ring distributions in the direction parallel to the magnetic field, while in the perpendicular direction the distribution is simulated with a loss cone type distribution obtained through the subtraction of two Maxwellian distributions with different temperatures. It is found that for frequencies ω＊ 〈 ωcH with ω＊ and ωcH the Doppler shifted and hydrogen ion gyro-frequencies, respectively, the growth rate of the kinetic Alfven wave increases with the increase in propagation angles and density of oxygen ions. On the other hand, for frequencies ω＊ 〈 ωco with ωco the oxygen ion gyro-frequency the growth rate is independent of the oxygen ion density.

Kinetic Alfvén waves in a deuterium-tritium fusion plasma with slowing-down distributed α-particles

The dispersion relation and damping rate of kinetic Alfvén waves(KAWs) in a deuterium-tritium fusion plasma with slowing-down distributed α-particles are investigated using the kinetic theory. The variations of wave frequency and damping rate with respect to the α concentration(n_(α)/n_(e)) and perpendicular wave number(k_(⊥)) are studied from a numerical way. The results show that the fluctuation of α concentration slightly affects the frequency and damping rate of KAWs at low n_(α)/n_(e). In addition, the frequency and the damping rate increase as the k_(⊥) and the background temperature Te increase. For comparison, the calculations are performed also in the case of α-particles following an equivalent Maxwellian distribution. For a given k_(⊥), the value of the frequency obtained in the slowing-down distribution case is smaller than that obtained in the Maxwellian distribution case. Conversely, the value of the damping rate obtained in the slowing-down distribution case is slightly larger than that obtained in the Maxwellian distribution case.

Observations of kinetic Alfvén waves and associated electron acceleration in the plasma sheet boundary layer

Kinetic Alfvén waves(KAWs),with a strong parallel disturbed electric field,play an important role in energy transport and particle acceleration in the magnetotail.On the basis of high-resolution observations of the Magnetospheric Multiscale(MMS)Mission,we present a detailed description of the acceleration process of electrons by KAWs in the plasma sheet boundary layer(PSBL).The MMS observed strong electromagnetic disturbances carrying a parallel disturbed electric field with an amplitude of up to 8 mV/m.The measured ratio of the electric to magnetic field perturbations was larger than the local Alfvén speed and was enhanced as the frequency increased,consistent with the theoretical predictions for KAWs.This evidence indicates that the electromagnetic disturbances should be identified as KAWs.During the KAWs,the energy flux of electrons at energies above 1 keV in the parallel and anti-parallel directions are significantly enhanced,implying occurrences of electron beams at higher energies.Additionally,the KAWs became more electrostaticlike and filled with high-frequency ion acoustic waves.The energy enhancement of electron beams is in accordance with the derived work done with the observed parallel disturbed electric field of KAWs,indicating electron acceleration caused by KAWs.Therefore,these results provide direct evidence of electron acceleration by KAWs embodying electrostatic ion acoustic waves in the PSBL.

The effect of forced oscillations on the kinetics of wave drift in an inhomogeneous plasma

The kinetics is analyzed of the drift of non-potential plasma waves in spatial positions and wavevectors due to plasma's spatial inhomogeneity. The analysis is based on highly informative kinetic scenarios of the drift of electromagnetic waves in a cold ionized plasma in the absence of a magnetic field(Erofeev 2015 Phys. Plasmas 22 092302) and the drift of long Langmuir waves in a cold magnetized plasma(Erofeev 2019 J. Plasma Phys. 85 905850104). It is shown that the traditional concept of the wave kinetic equation does not account for the effects of the forced plasma oscillations that are excited when the waves propagate in an inhomogeneous plasma.Terms are highlighted that account for these oscillations in the kinetic equations of the abovementioned highly informative wave drift scenarios.

Solitary kinetic Alfvén waves in a dense electron–positron–ion plasma with degenerate electrons and positrons

Through the use of a reductive perturbation technique, solitary kinetic Alfvén waves（KAWs） are investigated in a low but finite b（particle-to-magnetic pressure ratio） dense electron–positron–ion plasma where electrons and positrons are degenerate. The degenerate plasma model considered here permits the existence of sub-Alfvénic compressive solitary KAWs. The influence of r（equilibrium positron-to-ion density ratio）, sF（electron-to-positron Fermi temperature ratio）, b and obliqueness parameter lzon various characteristics of solitary KAWs are examined through numerical plots. We have shown that there exists a critical value of lzat which a soliton width attains its maximum value which decreases with an increase in r and sF.It is also found that solitons with a higher energy propagate more obliquely in the direction of an ambient magnetic field. The results of the present investigation may be useful for understanding low frequency nonlinear electromagnetic wave propagation in magnetized electron–positron–ion plasmas in dense stars. Specifically, the relevance of our investigation to a pulsar magnetosphere is emphasized.

PDRK:A General Kinetic Dispersion Relation Solver for Magnetized Plasma

A general,fast,and effective approach is developed for numerical calculation of kinetic plasma linear dispersion relations.The plasma dispersion function is approximated by J-pole expansion.Subsequently,the dispersion relation is transformed to a standard matrix eigenvalue problem of an equivalent linear system.Numerical solutions for the least damped or fastest growing modes using an 8-pole expansion are generally accurate;more strongly damped modes are less accurate,but are less likely to be of physical interest.In contrast to conventional approaches,such as Newton＇s iterative method,this approach can give either all the solutions in the system or a few solutions around the initial guess.It is also free from convergence problems.The approach is demonstrated for electrostatic dispersion equations with one-dimensional and twodimensional wavevectors,and for electromagnetic kinetic magnetized plasma dispersion relation for bi-Maxwellian distribution with relative parallel velocity flows between species.

Improvements to the statistical theoretical model for wave breaking based on the ratio of breaking wave kinetic and potential energy

An improvement was proposed for the statistical theory of breaking erttrainment depth and surface whitecap coverage of real sea waves in this study. The ratio of the kinetic and potential energy was estimated on a theoretical level, and optimal constants were determined to improve the statistical theory model for wave breaking. We also performed a sensitivity test to the model constants. A comparison between the model and in situ observations indicated that the level of agreement was better than has been achieved in previous studies.