Related papers: Nonlinear Mirror Modes in Space Plasmas
We present an analysis of the components of solar wind proton temperature perpendicular and parallel to the local magnetic field as a function of proximity to plasma instability thresholds. We find that $T_{\perp p}$ is enhanced near the…
Global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities are investigated in a computationally tractable two-dimensional model of the solar tachocline. The model's differential rotation yields stability in the absence of a magnetic field, but if a…
The first observed connection between kinetic instabilities driven by proton temperature anisotropy and estimated energy cascade rates in the turbulent solar wind is reported using measurements from the Wind spacecraft at 1 AU. We find…
At kinetic scales in the solar wind, instabilities transfer energy from particles to fluctuations in the electromagnetic fields while restoring plasma conditions towards thermodynamic equilibrium. We investigate the interplay between…
The relationship between a decaying strong turbulence and kinetic instabilities in a slowly expanding plasma is investigated using two-dimensional (2-D) hybrid expanding box simulations. We impose an initial ambient magnetic field…
The formation of shocks within the solar atmosphere remains one of the few observable signatures of energy dissipation arising from the plethora of magnetohydrodynamic waves generated close to the solar surface. Active region observations…
The mirror mode evolving in collisionless magnetised high-temperature thermally anisotropic plasmas is shown to develop an interesting macro-state. Starting as a classical zero frequency ion fluid instability it saturates quasi-linearly at…
We present a pioneering model of the interaction between the solar wind and the surrounding interstellar medium that includes the possibility of different pressures in directions parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field. The outer…
The nonlinear evolution of the Kelvin Helmholtz instability in a magnetized plasma with a perpendicular flow close to, or in, the supermagnetosonic regime can produce a significant parallel-to-perpendicular pressure anisotropy. This…
In this paper, we present observations of cold (0-70 eV) plasma density in the magnetotail lobes. The observations and results are based on 16 years of Cluster observation of spacecraft potential measurements converted into local plasma…
Electron cyclotron waves (whistlers), are commonly observed in plasmas near Earth and the solar wind. In the presence of nonlinear mirror modes, bursts of whistlers, usually called lion roars, have been observed within low magnetic field…
Proton mirror modes are large amplitude nonpropagating structures frequently observed in the magnetosheath. It has been suggested that electron temperature anisotropy can enhance the proton mirror instability growth rate while leaving the…
Among the fundamental and most challenging problems of laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasma physics is to understand the relaxation processes of nearly collisionless plasmas toward quasi-stationary states; and the resultant states of…
Recent studies of the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF) have detected interesting, systematic hemispherical and longitudinal asymmetries which have a profound significance for the understanding of solar magnetic fields. The in situ HMF…
We investigate the role of kinetic instabilities driven by a proton anisotropy on the onset of magnetic reconnection by means of 2-D hybrid simulations. The collisionless tearing of a current sheet is studied in the presence of a proton…
We study wave instability in an collisionless, rarefied hot plasma (e.g. solar wind or corona). We consider the anisotropy produced by the magnetic field, when the thermal gas pressures across and along the field become unequal. We apply…
We examine the physics of the magnetic mirror mode in its final state of saturation, the thermodynamic equilibrium, to demonstrate that the mirror mode is the analogue of a superconducting effect in a classical anisotropic-pressure space…
Kinetic effects in plasma flow due to a finite ion temperature and ion reflections in a converging-diverging magnetic nozzle are investigated with collisionless quasineutral hybrid simulations with kinetic ions and isothermal Boltzmann…
Using Parker Solar Probe measurements of the solar wind, we demonstrate that $\beta_{\parallel}$ is the main driver that determines which instabilities limit proton temperature anisotropy. At radial distances from 10 to 30 solar radii,…
For finite systems boundaries can introduce remarkable novel features. A well known example is the Casimir effect [1, 2] that is observed in quantum electrodynamic systems. In classical systems too novel effects associated with finite…