Related papers: Solar wind collisional heating
In situ observations of the solar wind frequently show the temperature of $\alpha$-particles (fully ionized helium), $T_\alpha$, to significantly differ from that of protons (ionized hydrogen), $T_p$. Many heating processes in the plasma…
An understanding of how turbulent energy is partitioned between ions and electrons in weakly collisional plasmas is crucial for modelling many astrophysical systems. Using theory and simulations of a four-dimensional reduced model of…
A connection between kinetic processes and intermittent turbulence is observed in the solar wind plasma using measurements from the Wind spacecraft at 1 AU. In particular, kinetic effects such as temperature anisotropy and plasma heating…
Weakly collisional plasmas are subject to nonlinear relaxation processes, which can operate at rates much faster than the particle collision frequencies. This causes the plasma to respond like a magnetised fluid despite having long particle…
We present a cascade model for turbulence in weakly collisional plasmas that follows the nonlinear cascade of energy from the large scales of driving in the MHD regime to the small scales of the kinetic Alfven wave regime where the…
The mechanism of heating for hot, dilute, and turbulent plasmas represents a long-standing problem in space physics, whose implications concern both near-Earth environments and astrophysical systems. In order to explore the possible role of…
In a collisionless, magnetized plasma, particles may stream freely along magnetic-field lines, leading to phase "mixing" of their distribution function and consequently to smoothing out of any "compressive" fluctuations (of density,…
The linearized model collision operator for multiple species plasmas given by H. Sugama, T.-H. Watanabe, and M. Nunami [Phys.\ Plasmas {\bf 16}, 112503 (2009)] is improved to be properly applicable up to the highly collisional regime. The…
Intermittency of heating in weakly collisional plasma turbulence is an active subject of research, with significant potential impact on understanding of the solar wind, solar corona and astrophysical plasmas. Recent studies suggest a role…
Solar wind provides an example of a weakly collisional plasma expanding from a thermal source in the presence of spatially diverging magnetic field lines. Observations show that in the inner heliosphere, the electron temperature declines…
The solar wind plasma is a fully ionized and turbulent gas ejected by the outer layers of the solar corona at very high speed, mainly composed by protons and electrons, with a small percentage of helium nuclei and a significantly lower…
Magnetic reconnection in strongly magnetized (low-beta), weakly collisional plasmas is investigated using a novel fluid-kinetic model [Zocco & Schekochihin, Phys. Plasmas 18, 102309 (2011)] which retains non-isothermal electron kinetics. It…
I propose a new paradigm for solar coronal heating viewed as a self-regulating process keeping the plasma marginally collisionless. The mechanism is based on the coupling between two effects. First, coronal density controls the plasma…
The physical processes in the solar corona that shape the solar wind remain an active research topic. Modeling efforts have shown that energy and plasma exchanges near the transition region plays a crucial role in modulating solar wind…
Evidence for inhomogeneous heating in the interplanetary plasma near current sheets dynamically generated by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is obtained using measurements from the ACE spacecraft. These coherent structures only…
The impulsive phase of a solar flare is known to generate strong turbulence and to transfer magnetic energy into accelerated electrons. Recognizing the importance of angular diffusion on the dynamics of the accelerated electrons, we extend…
The fast solar wind is a collisionless plasma permeated by plasma waves on many different scales. A plasma wave represents the natural interplay between the periodic changes of the electromagnetic field and the associated coherent motions…
Space plasmas are collisionpoor and kinetic effects prevail leading to wave fluctuations, which transfer the energy to small scales: wave-particle interactions replace collisions and enhance dispersive effects heating particles and…
Collisionless dissipation of turbulence is important for heating plasmas in astrophysical, space physics, and laboratory environments, controlling energy, momentum and particle transport. We analyze Parker Solar Probe observations to…
One of the basic properties of the solar wind, that is the high speed of the fast wind, is still not satisfactorily explained. This is mainly due to the theoretical difficulty of treating weakly collisional plasmas. The fluid approach…