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In fast wind or when the local Coulomb collision frequency is low, observations show that solar wind minor ions and ion sub-populations flow with different bulk velocities. Measurements indicate that the drift speed of both alpha particles…
A quantitative analysis is presented of the dust acoustic wave instability driven by the solar and stellar winds. This is a current-less kinetic instability which develops in permeating plasmas, i.e.., when one quasi-neutral electron-ion…
This publication provides an overview of magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere with the focus lying on the corona. The solar magnetic field couples the solar interior with the visible surface of the Sun and with its atmosphere. It is also…
Interactions between flows and magnetic fields in the Sun's plasma can change surface waves and flows near active regions, are evident in cyclic changes of large-scale phenomena such as the meridional circulation, and contribute to dynamics…
We present simulations of a comet interacting with the solar wind. Such simulations are treated in the framework of the ideal, 2D magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), using the FLASH code in order to solve the equations of such a formalism. Besides,…
A high-density magnetized plasma has been studied for understanding of plasma dynamics in partially ionized plasmas. Ion flow field has been obtained experimentally, and is shown to be associated with a vortex formation. The most remarkable…
We analyze measured proton and electron temperatures in the high-speed solar wind in order to calculate the separate rates of heat deposition for protons and electrons. When comparing with other regions of the heliosphere, the fast solar…
We study the dynamics of large dust grains >1 micron with orbits outside of the heliosphere (beyond 250 AU). Motion of the Solar System through the interstellar medium (ISM) at a velocity of 26 km/s subjects these particles to gas and…
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…
The proton temperature anisotropy in the solar wind exhibits apparent bounds which are compatible with the theoretical constraints imposed by temperature-anisotropy driven kinetic instabilities. Recent statistical analyses based on…
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,…
Bodies that lack a significant atmosphere and internal magnetic fields, such as the Moon and asteroids, can to a first approximation be considered passive absorbers of the solar wind. The solar wind ions and electrons directly impact the…
The elemental composition of the Sun's hot atmosphere, the corona, shows a distinctive pattern that is different than the underlying surface, or photosphere (Pottasch 1963). Elements that are easy to ionize in the chromosphere are enhanced…
The solar wind magnetic field contains rotations at a broad range of scales, which have been extensively studied in the MHD range. Here we present an extension of this analysis to the range between ion and electron kinetic scales. The…
The plasma of the lower solar atmosphere consists of mostly neutral particles, whereas the upper solar atmosphere is mostly ionised particles and electrons. A shock that propagates upwards in the solar atmosphere therefore undergoes a…
We consider the generation of electric currents in the solar chromosphere where the ionization level is typically low. We show that ambient electrons become magnetized even for weak magnetic fields (30 G); that is, their gyrofrequency…
A central problem of space plasma physics is how protons and electrons are heated in a turbulent, magnetized plasma. The differential heating of charged species due to dissipation of turbulent fluctuations plays a key role in solar wind…
The acceleration of solar flare ions during magnetic reconnection is explored via particle-in-cell simulations that self-consistently follow the motions of both protons and $\alpha$ particles. We demonstrate that the dominant ion heating…
Measurements of fluctuations of electric fields in the frequency range from a fraction of one Hz to 12.5 Hz are presented, and corrected for the Lorentz transformation of magnetic fluctuations to give the electric fields in the plasma…
The solar wind is a structured and complex system, in which the fields vary strongly over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. As an example, the turbulent activity in the wind affects the evolution in the heliosphere of the…