A Case for Electron-Astrophysics
Abstract
A grand-challenge problem at the forefront of physics is to understand how energy is transported and transformed in plasmas. This fundamental research priority encapsulates the conversion of plasma-flow and electromagnetic energies into particle energy, either as heat or some other form of energisation. The smallest characteristic scales, at which electron dynamics determines the plasma behaviour, are the next frontier in space and astrophysical plasma research. The analysis of astrophysical processes at these scales lies at the heart of the field of electron-astrophysics. Electron scales are the ultimate bottleneck for dissipation of plasma turbulence, which is a fundamental process not understood in the electron-kinetic regime. Since electrons are the most numerous and most mobile plasma species in fully ionised plasmas and are strongly guided by the magnetic field, their thermal properties couple very efficiently to global plasma dynamics and thermodynamics.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1908.02206,
title = {A Case for Electron-Astrophysics},
author = {Daniel Verscharen and Robert T. Wicks and Olga Alexandrova and Roberto Bruno and David Burgess and Christopher H. K. Chen and Raffaella D'Amicis and Johan De Keyser and Thierry Dudok de Wit and Luca Franci and Jiansen He and Pierre Henri and Satoshi Kasahara and Yuri Khotyaintsev and Kristopher G. Klein and Benoit Lavraud and Bennett A. Maruca and Milan Maksimovic and Ferdinand Plaschke and Stefaan Poedts and Chirstopher S. Reynolds and Owen Roberts and Fouad Sahraoui and Shinji Saito and Chadi S. Salem and Joachim Saur and Sergio Servidio and Julia E. Stawarz and Stepan Stverak and Daniel Told},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1908.02206},
year = {2019}
}
Comments
White Paper for the Voyage 2050 Long-Term Plan in the ESA Science Programme; 27 pages