Electron acceleration and small scale coherent structures formation by an Alfvén wave propagating in coronal interplume region

Abstract

We use 2.5-D electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation code to investigate the acceleration of electrons in solar coronal holes through the interaction of Alfvén waves with an interplume region. The interplume is modeled by a cavity density gradients that are perpendicular to the background magnetic field. The aim is to contribute to explain the observation of suprathermal electrons under relatively quiet sun. Simulations show that Alfvén waves in interaction with the interplume region gives rise to a strong local electric field that accelerates electrons in the direction parallel to the background magnetic field. Suprathermal electron beams and small-scale coherent structures are observed within interplume of strong density gradients. These features result from non linear evolution of the electron beam plasma instability.

9 pages, 9 figures, Published in Astronomische Nachrichten, 08/2017

References in corpus (15)

• Measurement of the electric fluctuation spectrum of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
• Coronal Holes
• Magnetic Landscape of Sun's Polar Region
• Scaling of the electron dissipation range of solar wind turbulence
• First direct measurements of transverse waves in solar polar plumes using SDO/AIA
• Is the Polar Region Different from the Quiet Region of the Sun?
• Morphology, dynamics and plasma parameters of plumes and inter-plume regions in solar coronal holes
• Propagating MHD waves in coronal holes
• Particle-In-Cell simulations of circularly polarised Alfvén wave phase mixing: a new mechanism for electron acceleration in collisionless plasmas
• Accelerating waves in polar coronal holes as seen by EIS and SUMER
• Three dimensional particle-in-cell simulation of particle acceleration by circularly polarised inertial Alfven waves in a transversely inhomogeneous plasma
• Particle acceleration by circularly and elliptically polarised dispersive Alfven waves in a transversely inhomogeneous plasma in the inertial and kinetic regimes
• A minimal model of parallel electric field generation in a transversely inhomogeneous plasma
• Alfvén wave phase-mixing in flows: Why over-dense, solar coronal, open magnetic field structures are cool?
• Collisionless, phase-mixed, dispersive, Gaussian Alfven pulse in transversely inhomogeneous plasma

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Electron acceleration from the interaction of three crossed parallel Alfvén waves
• Particle acceleration by sub-proton cyclotron frequency spectrum of dispersive Alfven waves in inhomogeneous solar coronal plasmas