The Proton Distribution Function in Weakly Magnetized Turbulent Plasmas
Astrophysics
2009-10-30 v1
Abstract
We calculate the proton distribution function due to heating by subsonic (Alfvenic) turbulence in a weakly magnetized collisionless plasma. The distribution function is nonthermal. For non-relativistic energies, it is an exponential of the magnitude of the proton velocity. For ultra-relativistic energies, it can be characterized as a power law with a momentum-dependent slope.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9808278,
title = {The Proton Distribution Function in Weakly Magnetized Turbulent Plasmas},
author = {Andrei Gruzinov and Eliot Quataert},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9808278},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
7 pages, submitted to ApJ