Compound Effect of Alfvén Waves and Ion-cyclotron Waves on Heating/Acceleration of Minor Ions via the Pickup Process
arXiv:1403.8023 · doi:10.1007/s11207-014-0550-6
Abstract
A scenario is proposed to explain the preferential heating of minor ions and differential streaming velocity between minor ions and protons observed in the solar corona and in the solar wind. It is demonstrated by test particle simulations that minor ions can be nearly fully picked up by intrinsic Alfvén-cyclotron waves observed in the solar wind based on the observed wave energy density. Both high frequency ion-cyclotron waves and low frequency Alfvén waves play crucial roles in the pickup process. A minor ion can first gain a high magnetic moment through the resonant wave-particle interaction with ion-cyclotron waves, and then this ion with a large magnetic moment can be trapped by magnetic mirror-like field structures in the presence of the lower-frequency Alfvén waves. As a result, the ion is picked up by these Alfvén-cyclotron waves. However, minor ions can only be partially picked up in the corona due to low wave energy density and low plasma beta. During the pickup process, minor ions are stochastically heated and accelerated by Alfvén-cyclotron waves so that they are hotter and flow faster than protons. The compound effect of Alfvén waves and ion-cyclotron waves is important on the heating and acceleration of minor ions. The kinetic properties of minor ions from simulation results are generally consistent with in situ and remote features observed in the solar wind and solar corona.
Accepted by Solar Physics