Relativistic electron acceleration by oblique whistler waves
- Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)
- National Institute of Technology Delhi, Dwarka, Delhi—110077 (India)
- School of Space Research, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-Si, Gyeonggi-Do 446-701 (Korea, Republic of)
Test-particle simulations of electrons interacting with finite-amplitude, obliquely propagating whistler waves are carried out in order to investigate the acceleration of relativistic electrons by these waves. According to the present findings, an efficient acceleration of relativistic electrons requires a narrow range of oblique propagation angles, close to the whistler resonance cone angle, when the wave amplitude is held constant at relatively low value. For a constant wave propagation angle, it is found that a range of oblique whistler wave amplitudes permits the acceleration of relativistic electrons to O(MeV) energies. An initial distribution of test electrons is shown to form a power-law distribution when plotted in energy space. It is also found that the acceleration is largely uniform in electron pitch-angle space.
- OSTI ID:
- 22218436
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 20, Issue 11; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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