|
1
|
Liu ZY, Zong QG, Rankin R, Zhang H, Hao YX, He JS, Fu SY, Wu HH, Yue C, Pollock CJ, Le G. Particle-sounding of the spatial structure of kinetic Alfvén waves. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2088. [PMID: 37045846 PMCID: PMC10097679 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37881-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) are ubiquitous throughout the plasma universe. Although they are broadly believed to provide a potential approach for energy exchange between electromagnetic fields and plasma particles, neither the detail nor the efficiency of the interactions has been well-determined yet. The primary difficulty has been the paucity of knowledge of KAWs' spatial structure in observation. Here, we apply a particle-sounding technique to Magnetospheric Multiscale mission data to quantitatively determine the perpendicular wavelength of KAWs from ion gyrophase-distribution observations. Our results show that KAWs' perpendicular wavelength is statistically 2.4[Formula: see text] times proton thermal gyro-radius. This observation yields an upper bound of the energy the majority proton population can reach in coherent interactions with KAWs, that is, roughly 5.76 times proton perpendicular thermal energy. Therefore, the method and results shown here provide a basis for unraveling the effects of KAWs in dissipating energy and accelerating particles in a number of astrophysical systems, e.g., planetary magnetosphere, astrophysical shocks, stellar corona and wind, and the interstellar medium.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Z-Y Liu
- Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Q-G Zong
- Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China.
- Key laboratory of solar activity and space weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, China.
| | - R Rankin
- Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - H Zhang
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Y-X Hao
- Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - J-S He
- Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - S-Y Fu
- Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - H-H Wu
- School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - C Yue
- Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | | | - G Le
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
|
2
|
Kitamura N, Kitahara M, Shoji M, Miyoshi Y, Hasegawa H, Nakamura S, Katoh Y, Saito Y, Yokota S, Gershman DJ, Vinas AF, Giles BL, Moore TE, Paterson WR, Pollock CJ, Russell CT, Strangeway RJ, Fuselier SA, Burch JL. Direct measurements of two-way wave-particle energy transfer in a collisionless space plasma. Science 2018; 361:1000-1003. [PMID: 30190400 DOI: 10.1126/science.aap8730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Particle acceleration by plasma waves and spontaneous wave generation are fundamental energy and momentum exchange processes in collisionless plasmas. Such wave-particle interactions occur ubiquitously in space. We present ultrafast measurements in Earth's magnetosphere by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft that enabled quantitative evaluation of energy transfer in interactions associated with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. The observed ion distributions are not symmetric around the magnetic field direction but are in phase with the plasma wave fields. The wave-ion phase relations demonstrate that a cyclotron resonance transferred energy from hot protons to waves, which in turn nonresonantly accelerated cold He+ to energies up to ~2 kilo-electron volts. These observations provide direct quantitative evidence for collisionless energy transfer in plasmas between distinct particle populations via wave-particle interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- N Kitamura
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan. .,Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - M Kitahara
- Department of Geophysics, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - M Shoji
- Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Y Miyoshi
- Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - H Hasegawa
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - S Nakamura
- Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Uji, Japan
| | - Y Katoh
- Department of Geophysics, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Y Saito
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - S Yokota
- Department of Earth and Space Science, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Japan
| | - D J Gershman
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - A F Vinas
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.,Department of Physics, American University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - B L Giles
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - T E Moore
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - W R Paterson
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | | | - C T Russell
- Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - R J Strangeway
- Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - S A Fuselier
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA.,University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - J L Burch
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|