Heating and acceleration of ions in nonresonant Alfvenic turbulence

Journal Article · Thu Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3449592· OSTI ID:21389100

Nariyuki, Y ^[1]; Hada, T ^[2]; Tsubouchi, K ^[3]

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1. Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Science, Kochi National College of Technology, Kochi 783-8508 (Japan)
2. Department of Earth System Science and Technology, Kyushu University, 6-1, Kasuga-koen, Kasuga City, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan)
3. National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8795 (Japan)

Nonlinear scattering of protons and alpha particles during the dissipation of the finite amplitude, low-frequency Alfvenic turbulence is studied. The process discussed here is not the coherent scattering and acceleration, as those often treated in the past studies, but is an incoherent process in which it is essential that the Alfvenic turbulence has a broadband spectrum. The presence of such an Alfvenic turbulence is widely recognized observationally both in the solar corona and in the solar wind. Numerical results suggest that, although there is no apparent sign of the occurrence of any parametric instabilities, the ions are heated efficiently by the nonlinear Landau damping, i.e., trapping and phase mixing by Alfven wave packets which are generated by beating of finite amplitude Alfven waves. The heating occurs both in the parallel and in the perpendicular directions, and the ion distribution function which is asymmetric with respect to the parallel velocity is produced. Eventual perpendicular energy of ions is much influenced by the spectrum and polarization of the given Alfvenic turbulence since the turbulence initially possess transverse energy as specified by Walen's relation.

• OSTI ID: 21389100
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 17, Issue 7; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3449592; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ACCELERATION
ALFVEN WAVES
ALPHA PARTICLES
COHERENT SCATTERING
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
IONS
LANDAU DAMPING
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES
PROTONS
SOLAR CORONA
SOLAR WIND
TRANSVERSE ENERGY
TURBULENCE
ATMOSPHERES
BARYONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
DAMPING
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY
FERMIONS
FUNCTIONS
HADRONS
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
INSTABILITY
IONIZING RADIATIONS
KINETIC ENERGY
NUCLEONS
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLASMA MACROINSTABILITIES
RADIATIONS
SCATTERING
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR ATMOSPHERE
STELLAR ACTIVITY
STELLAR ATMOSPHERES
STELLAR CORONAE
STELLAR WINDS