Preferential Heating and Acceleration of {alpha} Particles by Alfven-Cyclotron Waves

Journal Article · Fri May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.102.175001· OSTI ID:21316667

Araneda, J A; Maneva, Y; Marsch, E ^[1]

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1. Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion 4070386 (Chile)

Preferential heating and acceleration of heavy ions in the solar wind and corona represent a long-standing theoretical problem in space physics, and are distinct experimental signatures of kinetic processes occurring in collisionless plasmas. We show that fast and slow ion-acoustic waves (IAW) and transverse waves, driven by Alfven-cyclotron wave parametric instabilities can selectively destroy the coherent fluid motion of different ion species and, in this way lead to their differential heating and acceleration. Trapping of the more abundant protons by the fast IAW generates a proton beam with drift speed of about the Alfven speed. Because of their larger mass, {alpha} particles do not become significantly trapped and start, by conservation of total ion momentum, drifting relative to the receding bulk protons. Thus the resulting core protons and the {alpha} particles are differentially heated via pitch-angle scattering.

• OSTI ID: 21316667
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 17 Vol. 102; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ACCELERATION
ALFVEN WAVES
ALPHA PARTICLES
COLLISIONLESS PLASMA
HEATING
HEAVY IONS
ION ACOUSTIC WAVES
MASS
PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES
PROTON BEAMS
PROTONS
SCATTERING
SOLAR WIND
TRAPPING