Whistler waves generated inside magnetic dips in the young solar wind: observations of the Search-Coil Magnetometer on board Parker Solar Probe

Abstract

Context. Whistler waves are electromagnetic waves produced by electron-driven instabilities, that in turn can reshape the electron distributions via wave-particle interactions. In the solar wind, they are one of the main candidates for explaining the scattering of the strahl electron population into the halo at increasing radial distances from the Sun and for subsequently regulating the solar wind heat flux. However, it is unclear what type of instability dominates to drive whistlers in the solar wind. Aims. Our goal is to study whistler wave parameters in the young solar wind sampled by Parker Solar Probe (PSP). The wave normal angle (WNA) in particular is a key parameter to discriminate between the generation mechanisms of these waves. Methods. We analyze the cross-spectral matrices of magnetic fieldfluctuations measured by the Search-Coil Magnetometer (SCM) and processed by the Digital Fields Board (DFB) from the FIELDS suite during PSP's first perihelion. Results. Among the 2701 wave packets detected in the cross spectra, namely individual bins in time and frequency, most were quasi-parallel to the background magnetic field but a significant part (3%) of observed waves had oblique (> 45°) WNA. The validation analysis conducted with the time-series waveforms reveal that this percentage is a lower limit. Moreover, we find that about 64% of the whistler waves detected in the spectra are associated with at least one magnetic dip. Conclusions. We conclude that magnetic dips provides favorable conditions for the generation of whistler waves. We hypothesize that the whistlers detected in magnetic dips are locally generated by the thermal anisotropy as quasi-parallel and can gain obliqueness during their propagation. We finally discuss the implication of our results for the scattering of the strahl in the solar wind.

arXiv comment15 pages, 14 figures, recommended for publication in A&A

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• Quasi-parallel anti-sunward propagating whistler waves associated to the electron-deficit in the near-Sun solar wind: Particle-in-Cell simulation
• Particle-In-Cell Simulations of Sunward and Anti-sunward Whistler Waves in the Solar Wind