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1,017 records · Page 57
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

THE DISPERSION RELATIONS AND INSTABILITY THRESHOLDS OF OBLIQUE PLASMA MODES IN THE PRESENCE OF AN ION BEAM

An ion beam can destabilize Alfven/ion-cyclotron waves and magnetosonic/whistler waves if the beam speed is sufficiently large. Numerical solutions of the hot-plasma dispersion relation have previously shown that the minimum beam speed required to excite such instabilities is significantly smaller for oblique modes with k Multiplication-Sign B {sub 0} {ne} 0 than for parallel-propagating modes with k Multiplication-Sign B {sub 0} = 0, where k is the wavevector and B {sub 0} is the background magnetic field. In this paper, we explain this difference within the framework of quasilinear theory, focusing on low-{beta} plasmas. We begin by deriving, in the cold-plasma approximation, the dispersion relation and polarization properties of both oblique and parallel-propagating waves in the presence of an ion beam. We then show how the instability thresholds of the different wave branches can be deduced from the wave-particle resonance condition, the conservation of particle energy in the wave frame, the sign (positive or negative) of the wave energy, and the wave polarization. We also provide a graphical description of the different conditions under which Landau resonance and cyclotron resonance destabilize Alfven/ion-cyclotron waves in the presence of an ion beam. We draw upon our results to discuss the types of instabilities that may limit the differential flow of alpha particles in the solar wind.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

INSTABILITIES DRIVEN BY THE DRIFT AND TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPY OF ALPHA PARTICLES IN THE SOLAR WIND

We investigate the conditions under which parallel-propagating Alfven/ion-cyclotron (A/IC) waves and fast-magnetosonic/whistler (FM/W) waves are driven unstable by the differential flow and temperature anisotropy of alpha particles in the solar wind. We focus on the limit in which w{sub Parallel-To {alpha}} {approx}> 0.25v{sub A}, where w{sub Parallel-To {alpha}} is the parallel alpha-particle thermal speed and v{sub A} is the Alfven speed. We derive analytic expressions for the instability thresholds of these waves, which show, e.g., how the minimum unstable alpha-particle beam speed depends upon w{sub Parallel-To {alpha}}/v{sub A}, the degree of alpha-particle temperature anisotropy, and the alpha-to-proton temperature ratio. We validate our analytical results using numerical solutions to the full hot-plasma dispersion relation. Consistent with previous work, we find that temperature anisotropy allows A/IC waves and FM/W waves to become unstable at significantly lower values of the alpha-particle beam speed U{sub {alpha}} than in the isotropic-temperature case. Likewise, differential flow lowers the minimum temperature anisotropy needed to excite A/IC or FM/W waves relative to the case in which U{sub {alpha}} = 0. We discuss the relevance of our results to alpha particles in the solar wind near 1 AU.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

LIMITS ON ALPHA PARTICLE TEMPERATURE ANISOTROPY AND DIFFERENTIAL FLOW FROM KINETIC INSTABILITIES: SOLAR WIND OBSERVATIONS

Previous studies have shown that the observed temperature anisotropies of protons and alpha particles in the solar wind are constrained by theoretical thresholds for pressure and anisotropy driven instabilities such as the Alfvén/ion-cyclotron (A/IC) and fast-magnetosonic/whistler (FM/W) instabilities. In this Letter, we use a long period of in situ measurements provided by the Wind spacecraft's Faraday cups to investigate the combined constraint on the alpha proton differential flow velocity and the alpha particle temperature anisotropy due to A/IC and FM/W instabilities. We show that the majority of the data are constrained to lie within the region of parameter space in which A/IC and FM/W waves are either stable or have extremely low growth rates. In the minority of observed cases in which the growth rate of the A/IC (FM/W) instability is comparatively large, we find relatively higher values of T {sub α}/T {sub p} (T {sub ∥α}/T {sub ∥p}) when the alpha proton differential flow velocity is small, where T {sub α} and T {sub p} (T {sub ∥α} and T {sub ∥p}) are the perpendicular (parallel) temperatures of alpha particles and protons. We conjecture that this observed feature might arise from preferential alpha particle heating which can drive the alpha particles beyond the instability thresholds.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Kinetic Scale Structure of Low-frequency Waves and Fluctuations

The dissipation of solar wind turbulence at kinetic scales is believed to be important for the heating of the corona and for accelerating the wind. The linear Vlasov kinetic theory is a useful tool for identifying various wave modes, including kinetic Alfvén, fast magnetosonic/whistler, and ion-acoustic (or kinetic slow), and their possible roles in the dissipation. However, the kinetic mode structure in the vicinity of ion-cyclotron modes is not clearly understood. The present paper aims to further elucidate the structure of these low-frequency waves by introducing discrete particle effects through hybrid simulations and Klimontovich formalism of spontaneous emission theory. The theory and simulation of spontaneously emitted low-frequency fluctuations are employed to identify and distinguish the detailed mode structures associated with ion-Bernstein modes versus quasi-modes. The spontaneous emission theory and simulation also confirm the findings of the Vlasov theory in that the kinetic Alfvén waves can be defined over a wide range of frequencies, including the proton cyclotron frequency and its harmonics, especially for high-beta plasmas. This implies that these low-frequency modes may play predominant roles even in the fully kinetic description of kinetic scale turbulence and dissipation despite the fact that cyclotron harmonic and Bernstein modes may also play important roles in wave–particle interactions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗