Related papers: Velocity-Space Proton Diffusion in the Solar Wind …
In the present paper, the proton velocity distribution function (VDF)in the solar wind is determined by solving numerically the kinetic evolution equation. We compare the results obtained when considering the effects of ex- ternal forces…
Space plasmas are dominated by the presence of large-amplitude waves, large-scale inhomogeneities, kinetic effects and turbulence. Beside the homogeneous turbulence, generation of small scale fluctuations can take place also in other…
In this work, we investigate how the complex structure found in solar wind proton velocity distribution functions (VDFs), rather than the commonly assumed two-component bi-Maxwellian structure, affects the onset and evolution of…
We investigate how the proton distribution function evolves when the protons undergo stochastic heating by strong, low-frequency, Alfv\'en-wave turbulence under the assumption that $\beta$ is small. We apply our analysis to protons…
We investigate the local proton energization at magnetic discontinuities/intermittent structures and the corresponding kinetic signatures in velocity phase space in Alfv\'enic and non-Alfv\'enic wind streams observed by Parker Solar Probe.…
Nonthermal features are ubiquitously observed in electron velocity distribution functions in the solar wind, yet their origin in the collisionless, turbulent, expanding solar-wind plasma remains unclear. We investigate how solar-wind…
Solar wind ions are observed to be heated in the directions perpendicular to the large-scale magnetic field, with preferential heating given to heavy ions. In the solar corona, this heating may be responsible for the generation of the wind…
The measured spectrum of kinetic Alfven wave fluctuations in the turbulent solar wind plasma is used to calculate the electron and ion distribution functions resulting from quasi-linear diffusion. The modified ion distribution function is…
One view of the solar-wind turbulence is that the observed highly anisotropic fluctuations at spatial scales near the proton inertial length $d_p$ may be considered as Kinetic Alfv\'en waves (KAWs). In the present paper, we show how…
Broadly, solar wind source regions can be classified by their magnetic topology as intermittently and continuously open to the heliosphere. Early models of solar wind acceleration do not account for the fastest, non-transient solar wind…
We investigate the self-consistent formation and long-term evolution of proton beams in the expanding solar wind using an ensemble of one-dimensional hybrid expanding box simulations. Initial conditions are chosen to represent a range of…
Kinetic Alfv\'en waves represent an important subject in space plasma physics, since they are thought to play a crucial role in the development of the turbulent energy cascade in the solar wind plasma at short wavelengths (of the order of…
The k-filtering technique and wave polarization analysis are applied to Cluster magnetic field data to study plasma turbulence at the scale of the ion gyroradius in the fast solar wind. Waves are found propagating in directions nearly…
In the parts of the solar corona and solar wind that experience the fewest Coulomb collisions, the component proton, electron, and heavy ion populations are not in thermal equilibrium with one another. Observed differences in temperatures,…
Turbulence, a ubiquitous phenomenon in interplanetary space, is crucial for the energy conversion of space plasma at multiple scales. This work focuses on the propagation, polarization and wave composition properties of the solar wind…
We develop a 1D solar-wind model that includes separate energy equations for the electrons and protons, proton temperature anisotropy, collisional and collisionless heat flux, and an analytical treatment of low-frequency, reflection-driven,…
Past observations show that solar wind (SW) acceleration occurs inside the sub-Alfvenic region, reaching the local Alfven speed at typical distances ~ 10 - 20 Rs (solar radii). Recently, Parker Solar Probe (PSP) traversed regions of…
Magnetohydronamic turbulence is believed to play a crucial role in heating the laboratorial, space, and astrophysical plasmas. However, the precise connection between the turbulent fluctuations and the particle kinetics has not yet been…
A long-lasting debate in space plasma physics concerns the nature of subproton-scale fluctuations in solar wind (SW) turbulence. Over the past decade, a series of theoretical and observational studies were presented in favor of either…
Using one-dimensional hybrid expanding box model we investigate properties of the solar wind in the outer heliosphere. We assume a proton-electron plasma with a strictly transverse ambient magnetic field and, beside the expansion, we take…