Kinetic model of force-free current sheets with non-uniform temperature
- Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, Physics Department, University of Warwick, Coventry (United Kingdom)
- Space Research Institute, RAS, Moscow (Russian Federation)
The kinetic model of a one-dimensional force-free current sheet (CS) developed recently by Harrison and Neukirch [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102(13), 135003 (2009)] predicts uniform distributions of the plasma temperature and density across the CS. However, in realistic physical systems, inhomogeneities of these plasma parameters may arise quite naturally due to the boundary conditions or local plasma heating. Moreover, as the CS spatial scale becomes larger than the characteristic kinetic scales (the regime often referred to as the MHD limit), it should be possible to set arbitrary density and temperature profiles. Thus, an advanced model has to allow for inhomogeneities of the macroscopic plasma parameters across the CS, to be consistent with the MHD limit. In this paper, we generalise the kinetic model of a force-free current sheet, taking into account the inhomogeneity of the density and temperature across the CS. In the developed model, the density may either be enhanced or depleted in the CS central region. The temperature profile is prescribed by the density profile, keeping the plasma pressure uniform across the CS. All macroscopic parameters, as well as the distribution functions for the protons and electrons, are determined analytically. Applications of the developed model to current sheets observed in space plasmas are discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 22489854
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 11; Other Information: (c) 2015 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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