Related papers: Impact of Two-Population $\alpha$-particle Distrib…
Observations of solar wind velocity distribution functions (VDFs) commonly reveal fine-scale structures. These features strongly influence kinetic processes such as wave damping and instability, yet their role remains poorly understood. We…
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…
Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell simulations are employed to investigate the role of kinetic effects in a two-dimensional turbulent multi-ion plasma, composed of protons, alpha particles and fluid electrons. In the typical conditions of the solar-wind…
Recent observations of the solar wind ions by the SPAN-I instruments on board the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft at solar perihelia (Encounters) 4 and closer find ample evidence of complex anisotropic non-Maxwellian velocity…
Instabilities described by linear theory characterize an important form of wave-particle interaction in the solar wind. We diagnose unstable behavior of solar wind plasma between 0.3 and 1 au via the Nyquist criterion, applying it to fits…
The problems of heating and acceleration of solar wind particles are of significant and enduring interest in astrophysics. The interactions between waves and particles are crucial in determining the distributions of proton and alpha…
In-situ observations of the solar wind (SW) plasma from 0.29 to 1AU show that the protons and alpha particles are often non-Maxwellian, with evidence of kinetic instabilities, temperature anisotropies, differential ion streaming, and…
Recent in-situ observations from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission in the inner heliosphere near perihelia show evidence of ion beams, temperature anisotropies, and kinetic wave activity, which are likely associated with kinetic heating…
The expanding solar wind plasma ubiquitously exhibits anisotropic non-thermal particle velocity distributions. Typically, proton Velocity Distribution Functions (VDFs) show the presence of a core and a field-aligned beam. Novel observations…
Ion-driven plasma instability thresholds, derived from linear theory, constrain the distribution of solar observations in parameter space, defining boundaries of stable plasma parameters. Excursions beyond these thresholds result in the…
Recent in situ observations from Parker Solar Probe (PSP) near perihelia reveal ion beams, temperature anisotropies, and kinetic wave activity. These features are likely linked to solar wind heating and acceleration. During PSP Encounter 17…
Analysis of ion-kinetic instabilities in solar wind plasmas is crucial for understanding energetics and dynamics throughout the heliosphere, as evident from spacecraft observations of complex ion velocity distribution functions (VDFs) and…
In the solar wind electron velocity distributions reveal two counter-moving populations which may induce electromagnetic (EM) beaming instabilities known as heat flux instabilities. Depending on plasma parameters two distinct branches of…
Linear theory is a well developed framework for characterizing instabilities in weakly collisional plasmas, such as the solar wind. In the previous instalment of this series, we analyzed ~1.5M proton and alpha particle Velocity Distribution…
Space plasmas are weakly collisional since characteristic time scales related to Coulomb collisions are much larger than those of Larmor gyration or wave--particle interactions. Thus, wave activity is likely to drive some of the non-thermal…
Electron velocity distributions in the solar wind are known to have field-aligned skewness, which has been characterized by the presence of secondary populations such as the halo and strahl. Skewness may provide energy for the excitation of…
Observations show that plasma particles in the solar wind frequently display power-law velocity distributions, which can be isotropic or anisotropic. Particularly, the velocity distribution functions of solar wind electrons are frequently…
Modeling fast solar wind based on the kinetic theory is an important task for scientists. In this paper, we present a two-fluid model for fast solar wind with anisotropic Kappa-Maxwellian electrons and Bi-Maxwellian protons. In the…
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…
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…