Electrostatic fluctuations in the solar wind: An evidence of the link between Alfvénic and electrostatic scales

Electrostatic activity in the frequency range of few kHz represents a very common phenomenon observed in the solar wind since first observation from Helios spacecraft. In this paper we present a detailed comparison between electrostatic fluctuations detected by STEREO spacecraft and the results of kinetic numerical simulations. By using a novel approach, made by a combination of two different numerical models, we provide a convincing interpretation of the space observations in terms of the electrostatic branch of the so‐called ion‐bulk waves able to survive against Landau damping even at small values of Te/Tp. The comparison between data and numerical simulations allows to characterize the chain of physical mechanisms, able to efficiently transfer energy from the Alfvénic scales down to scales of the order of the Debye length, through the excitation of the observed electrostatic fluctuations.

[1]  INTERMITTENCY OF SOLAR WIND DENSITY FLUCTUATIONS FROM ION TO ELECTRON SCALES , 2014, 1405.7189.

[2]  I. Cairns,et al.  Harmonic waves and sheath rectification in type III solar radio bursts , 2014 .

[3]  F. Pegoraro,et al.  Excitation of nonlinear electrostatic waves with phase velocity close to the ion-thermal speed , 2011 .

[4]  F. Valentini,et al.  SHORT-WAVELENGTH ELECTROSTATIC FLUCTUATIONS IN THE SOLAR WIND , 2011 .

[5]  P. Henri,et al.  Observations of Langmuir ponderomotive effects using the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory spacecraft as a density probe , 2011 .

[6]  F. Pegoraro,et al.  New ion-wave path in the energy cascade. , 2011, Physical review letters.

[7]  M. Velli,et al.  Parametric decay of linearly polarized shear Alfvén waves in oblique propagation: One and two‐dimensional hybrid simulations , 2010 .

[8]  M. Velli,et al.  Kinetics of parametric instabilities of Alfvén waves: Evolution of ion distribution functions , 2010 .

[9]  F. Valentini,et al.  Two-dimensional kinetic turbulence in the solar wind. , 2010, Physical review letters.

[10]  F. Valentini,et al.  Electrostatic short-scale termination of solar-wind turbulence. , 2009, Physical review letters.

[11]  C. Briand.  Plasma waves above the ion cyclotron frequency in the solar wind: a review on observations , 2009 .

[12]  M. Maksimović,et al.  Plasma wave measurements with STEREO S/WAVES: Calibration, potential model, and preliminary results , 2009 .

[13]  A. Mangeney,et al.  Cross-scale effects in solar-wind turbulence. , 2008, Physical review letters.

[14]  J. McCauley,et al.  The Electric Antennas for the STEREO/WAVES Experiment , 2008 .

[15]  E. Marsch,et al.  Proton core heating and beam formation via parametrically unstable Alfvén-cyclotron waves. , 2008, Physical review letters.

[16]  C. A. Meetre,et al.  S/WAVES: The Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation on the STEREO Mission , 2008 .

[17]  Petr Hellinger,et al.  A hybrid-Vlasov model based on the current advance method for the simulation of collisionless magnetized plasma , 2007, J. Comput. Phys..

[18]  E. Marsch.  Kinetic Physics of the Solar Corona and Solar Wind , 2006 .

[19]  T. Horbury,et al.  Solar Wind Electric Fields in the Ion Cyclotron Frequency Range , 2006, physics/0602179.

[20]  Pierluigi Veltri,et al.  A numerical scheme for the integration of the Vlasov-Poisson system of equations, in the magnetized case , 2005 .

[21]  Vincenzo Carbone,et al.  The Solar Wind as a Turbulence Laboratory , 2005 .

[22]  M. Miesch.  Large-Scale Dynamics of the Convection Zone and Tachocline , 2005 .

[23]  T. Horbury,et al.  Measurement of the electric fluctuation spectrum of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. , 2005, Physical review letters.

[24]  A. Mangeney,et al.  WIND observations of coherent electrostatic waves in the solar wind , 1999 .

[25]  V. Carbone,et al.  A model for the three‐dimensional magnetic field correlation spectra of low‐frequency solar wind fluctuations during Alfvénic periods , 1995 .

[26]  W. Matthaeus,et al.  An interplanetary magnetic field ensemble at 1 AU , 1986 .

[27]  H. Rosenbauer,et al.  Ion acoustic waves and related plasma observations in the solar wind , 1979 .

[28]  D. Gurnett,et al.  Ion-Acoustic Waves in the Solar Wind. , 1977 .

[29]  D. Gurnett,et al.  Plasma wave electric fields in the solar wind: Initial results from Helios 1 , 1977 .

[30]  N. A. Krall,et al.  Principles of Plasma Physics , 1973 .

[31]  Charles F. Kennel,et al.  Velocity Space Diffusion from Weak Plasma Turbulence in a Magnetic Field , 1966 .