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Title: He{sup 2+} HEATING VIA PARAMETRIC INSTABILITIES OF PARALLEL PROPAGATING ALFVÉN WAVES WITH AN INCOHERENT SPECTRUM

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
; ; ;  [1]
  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, Department of Geophysics and Planetary Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China)

The preferential heating of heavy ions in the solar corona and solar wind has been a long-standing hot topic. In this paper we use a one-dimensional hybrid simulation model to investigate the heating of He{sup 2+} particles during the parametric instabilities of parallel propagating Alfvén waves with an incoherent spectrum. The evolution of the parametric instabilities has two stages and involves the heavy ion heating during the entire evolution. In the first stage, the density fluctuations are generated by the modulation of the pump Alfvén waves with a spectrum, which then results in rapid coupling with the pump Alfvén waves and the cascade of the magnetic fluctuations. In the second stage, each pump Alfvén wave decays into a forward density mode and a backward daughter Alfvén mode, which is similar to that of a monochromatic pump Alfvén wave. In both stages the perpendicular heating of He{sup 2+} particles occurs. This is caused by the cyclotron resonance between He{sup 2+} particles and the high-frequency magnetic fluctuations, whereas the Landau resonance between He{sup 2+} particles and the density fluctuations leads to the parallel heating of He{sup 2+} particles. The influence of the drift velocity between the protons and the He{sup 2+} particles on the heating of He{sup 2+} particles is also discussed in this paper.

OSTI ID:
22679540
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 827, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English