DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Wave Generation and Heat Flux Suppression in Astrophysical Plasma Systems

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Physics
  2. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Physics, Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, and Institute for Physical Science and Technology; Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI), College Park, MD (United States)
  3. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Dept. of Physics, Institute for Research in Electronics; Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI), College Park, MD (United States)
  4. Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge (United Kingdom)

Heat flux suppression in collisionless plasmas for a large range of plasma β is explored using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations with a strong, sustained thermal gradient. We find that a transition takes place between whistler-dominated (high-β) and double-layer-dominated (low-β) heat flux suppression. Whistlers saturate at small amplitude in the low beta limit and are unable to effectively suppress the heat flux. Electrostatic double layers (DLs) suppress the heat flux to a mostly constant factor of the free-streaming value once this transition happens. The DL physics is an example of ion–electron coupling and occurs on a scale of roughly the electron Debye length. The scaling of ion heating associated with the various heat flux driven instabilities is explored over the full range of β explored. The range of plasma-βs studied in this work makes it relevant to the dynamics of a large variety of astrophysical plasmas, including the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters, hot accretion flows, stellar and accretion disk coronae, and the solar wind.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); Univ. of California, Oakland, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1544071
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal (Online), Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal (Online) Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 867; ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (86)

Nonlinear local parallel acceleration of electrons through Landau trapping by oblique whistler mode waves in the outer radiation belt: NONLINEAR ELECTRON ACCELERATION journal December 2015
The formation and evolution of double layers inside the auroral cavity: DOUBLE LAYERS IN AURORAL CAVITY journal June 2013
A double layer review journal January 1978
Dynamical aspects of electrostatic double layers journal May 1988
Diffusion and radiation in magnetized collisionless plasmas with small-scale Whistler turbulence journal March 2016
Self-inhibiting thermal conduction in a high-, whistler-unstable plasma journal June 2018
Electric fields and double layers in plasmas journal May 1987
Kinetic Alfvén wave revisited journal July 1999
Solar wind electrons: Parametric constraints journal September 1999
Three-dimensional particle simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection journal January 2002
Auroral particle acceleration by strong double layers: The upward current region journal January 2004
Physics of pitch angle scattering and velocity diffusion, 1. Theory journal January 1992
The whistler heat flux instability: Threshold conditions in the solar wind journal January 1994
Lower bound for electron core beta in the solar wind journal July 1998
On electron heat conduction in the solar wind journal September 1974
Heat flux instabilities in the solar wind journal November 1975
Collisionless electron heat conduction in the solar wind journal April 1976
Particle acceleration by MHD surface wave and formation of aurora journal October 1976
Ion-acoustic-like instabilities in the solar wind journal January 1978
Properties of whistler mode waves between 0.3 and 1.0 AU from Helios observations journal September 1981
Self-inhibiting heat flux journal November 1998
Electron injection by whistler waves in non-relativistic shocks conference January 2012
Heat flux reduction by electromagnetic instabilities journal January 1978
Weak double layers in ion-acoustic turbulence journal January 1985
The electron/electron acoustic instability journal September 1987
Inhibition of electron thermal conduction by electromagnetic instabilities journal March 1992
Whistler Heat Flux Instability at High Beta journal February 2000
Stability, Instability, and “Backward” Transport in Stratified Fluids journal May 2000
Models of Galaxy Clusters with Thermal Conduction journal January 2003
Thermal Instability in Clusters of Galaxies with Conduction journal October 2003
Buoyancy Instabilities in Weakly Magnetized Low‐Collisionality Plasmas journal February 2008
Shaken and Stirred: Conduction and Turbulence in Clusters of Galaxies journal April 2010
Electron Injection by Whistler Waves in Non-Relativistic Shocks journal May 2011
Suppression of Energetic Electron Transport in Flares by Double Layers journal August 2012
Coronal Electron Confinement by Double Layers journal November 2013
Turbulent Pitch-Angle Scattering and Diffusive Transport of hard X-Ray-Producing Electrons in Flaring Coronal Loops journal December 2013
Dynamics of Double Layers, ion Acceleration, and heat flux Suppression During Solar Flares journal August 2014
WHISTLER MODE WAVES AND THE ELECTRON HEAT FLUX IN THE SOLAR WIND: CLUSTER OBSERVATIONS journal October 2014
Electron Heating by the ion Cyclotron Instability in Collisionless Accretion Flows. i. Compression-Driven Instabilities and the Electron Heating Mechanism journal February 2015
Electron Heating by the ion Cyclotron Instability in Collisionless Accretion Flows. ii. Electron Heating Efficiency as a Function of flow Conditions journal February 2015
Inefficient Driving of bulk Turbulence by Active Galactic Nuclei in a Hydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium journal December 2015
Electron heat Conduction in the Solar Wind: Transition from Spitzer-HÄRm to the Collisionless Limit journal May 2013
Radio light curves during the passage of cloud G2 near Sgr A* journal April 2013
Electron heat flux instability journal November 2016
Characteristics of heat flux and electromagnetic electron-cyclotron instabilities driven by solar wind electrons journal January 2017
Clarifying the solar wind heat flux instabilities journal June 2018
Stability analysis of core–strahl electron distributions in the solar wind journal July 2018
Sound wave generation by a spherically symmetric outburst and AGN feedback in galaxy clusters II: impact of thermal conduction journal April 2018
Stochastic Acceleration journal January 1966
Transport Phenomena in a Completely Ionized Gas journal March 1953
Instability, Turbulence, and Conductivity in Current-Carrying Plasma journal July 1958
Direct Observation of Radiation-Belt Electron Acceleration from Electron-Volt Energies to Megavolts by Nonlinear Whistlers journal July 2014
Relativistic Electrons Produced by Foreshock Disturbances Observed Upstream of Earth’s Bow Shock journal November 2016
Suppression of Electron Thermal Conduction by Whistler Turbulence in a Sustained Thermal Gradient journal January 2018
Effect of Localized Electric Fields on the Evolution of the Velocity Distribution Function journal December 1974
Stochastic Acceleration by a Single Wave in a Magnetic Field journal June 1975
Instability, Turbulence, and Conductivity in Current-Carrying Plasma. journal August 1958
On viscosity, conduction and sound waves in the intracluster medium journal November 2005
Suppression of Electron Thermal Conduction by Whistler Turbulence in a Sustained Thermal Gradient. text January 2018
SUPPRESSION of ELECTRON THERMAL CONDUCTION in the HIGH β INTRACLUSTER MEDIUM of GALAXY CLUSTERS text January 2016
Suppression of AGN-driven Turbulence by Magnetic Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium text January 2018
Acoustic Disturbances in Galaxy Clusters journalarticle January 2018
Interplay Among Cooling, agn Feedback, and Anisotropic Conduction in the cool Cores of Galaxy Clusters journal February 2016
Pic Simulations of the Effect of Velocity Space Instabilities on Electron Viscosity and Thermal Conduction journal June 2016
Stochastic Electron Acceleration by the Whistler Instability in a Growing Magnetic Field journal November 2017
Electron Heating in Low-Mach-number Perpendicular Shocks. I. Heating Mechanism journal December 2017
Suppression of AGN-driven Turbulence by Magnetic Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium journal April 2018
Acoustic Disturbances in Galaxy Clusters journal April 2018
SUPPRESSION OF ELECTRON THERMAL CONDUCTION IN THE HIGH β INTRACLUSTER MEDIUM OF GALAXY CLUSTERS journal October 2016
Increasing Black Hole Feedback-induced Quenching with Anisotropic Thermal Conduction journal March 2017
Electron Scattering by High-frequency Whistler Waves at Earth’s Bow Shock journal June 2017
Suppression of energetic electron transport in flares by double layers text January 2012
Turbulent pitch-angle scattering and diffusive transport of hard-X-ray producing electrons in flaring coronal loops text January 2013
Coronal Electron Confinement by Double Layers text January 2014
Electron Heating by the Ion Cyclotron Instability in Collisionless Accretion Flows. I. Compression-Driven Instabilities and the Electron Heating Mechanism text January 2014
Interplay among Cooling, AGN Feedback and Anisotropic Conduction in the Cool Cores of Galaxy Clusters text January 2015
Stochastic Electron Acceleration by the Whistler Instability in a Growing Magnetic Field text January 2017
Suppression of electron thermal conduction by whistler turbulence in a sustained thermal gradient text January 2017
Electron Heating in Low Mach Number Perpendicular shocks. I. Heating Mechanism text January 2017
Self-inhibiting thermal conduction in high-beta, whistler-unstable plasma text January 2017
Suppression of AGN-Driven Turbulence by Magnetic Fields in a Magnetohydrodynamic Model of the Intracluster Medium text January 2018
Clarifying the solar wind heat-flux instabilities text January 2018
Models of Galaxy Clusters with Thermal Conduction text January 2002
Thermal Instability in Clusters of Galaxies with Conduction text January 2003
On viscosity, conduction and sound waves in the intracluster medium text January 2005
Self Inhibiting Heat-Flux text January 1998

Cited By (13)

Physics of cosmic plasmas from high angular resolution X-ray imaging of galaxy clusters preprint January 2019
Turbulence decay in the density-stratified intracluster medium journal May 2019
Jets, bubbles, and heat pumps in galaxy clusters journal August 2019
Quasi-linear approach of the whistler heat-flux instability in the solar wind journal April 2019
Statistical Study of Whistler Waves in the Solar Wind at 1 au journal June 2019
Nonlinear Evolution of the Whistler Heat Flux Instability journal September 2019
Self-induced Scattering of Strahl Electrons in the Solar Wind journal November 2019
Scattering of Energetic Electrons by Heat-flux-driven Whistlers in Flares journal December 2019
Whistler Wave Generation by Halo Electrons in the Solar Wind journal January 2019
Whistler Fan Instability Driven by Strahl Electrons in the Solar Wind journal January 2019
Turbulence decay in the density-stratified intracluster medium text January 2019
Quasilinear Approach of the Whistler Heat-Flux Instability in the Solar Wind text January 2019
Statistical Study of Whistler Waves in the Solar Wind at 1 AU text January 2019