Kinetic Alfven solitary waves in a magnetized plasma with superthermal electrons

Journal Article · Tue Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4931993· OSTI ID:22490147

Panwar, A., E-mail: [e-mail], E-mail: [e-mail], E-mail: [e-mail]; Ryu, C. M., E-mail: [e-mail], E-mail: [e-mail], E-mail: [e-mail] ^[1]; Bains, A. S., E-mail: [e-mail], E-mail: [e-mail], E-mail: [e-mail] ^[2]

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1. POSTECH, Hyoja-Dong San 31, KyungBuk, Pohang 790-784 (Korea, Republic of)
2. Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan S7N5E2 (Canada)

A study of the ion Larmor radius effects on the solitary kinetic Alfven waves (SKAWs) in a magnetized plasma with superthermal electrons is presented by employing the kinetic theory. The linear dispersion relation of SKAW is shown to depend on the superthermal parameter κ, ion to electron temperature ratio, and the angle of wave propagation. Using the Sagdeev potential approach, the energy balance equation has been derived to study the dynamics of SKAWs. The effects of various plasma parameters are investigated for the propagation of SKAWs. It is shown that only compressive solitons can exist and in the Maxwellian limit our results are in good agreement with previous studies. Further, the characteristics of small amplitude SKAWs are investigated. Present study could be useful for the understanding of SKAWs in a low β plasma in astrophysical environment, where particle distributions are superthermal in nature.

• OSTI ID: 22490147
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 22, Issue 9; 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

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ALFVEN WAVES
AMPLITUDES
ASTROPHYSICS
DISPERSION RELATIONS
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
ELECTRONS
ENERGY BALANCE
IONS
LARMOR RADIUS
PARTICLES
PLASMA
POTENTIALS
SOLITONS