Fully Kinetic Simulations of Proton-beam-driven Instabilities from Parker Solar Probe Observations

Autor: L. Pezzini, A. N. Zhukov, F. Bacchini, G. Arrò, R. A. López, A. Micera, M. E. Innocenti, G. Lapenta
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Astrophysical Journal, Vol 975, Iss 1, p 37 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1538-4357
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad7465
Popis: The expanding solar wind plasma ubiquitously exhibits anisotropic nonthermal particle velocity distributions. Typically, proton velocity distribution functions (VDFs) show the presence of a core and a field-aligned beam. Novel observations made by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) in the innermost heliosphere have revealed new complex features in the proton VDFs, namely anisotropic beams that sometimes experience perpendicular diffusion. In this study, we use a 2.5D fully kinetic simulation to investigate the stability of proton VDFs with anisotropic beams observed by PSP. Our setup consists of a core and an anisotropic beam population that drift with respect to each other. This configuration triggers a proton beam instability from which nearly parallel fast magnetosonic modes develop. Our results demonstrate that before this instability reaches saturation, the waves resonantly interact with the beam protons, causing perpendicular heating at the expense of the parallel temperature.
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