The Proton Distribution Function in Weakly Magnetized Turbulent Plasmas
نویسندگان
چکیده
We calculate the proton distribution function due to heating by subsonic (Alfvenic) turbulence in a weakly magnetized collisionless plasma. The distribution function is nonthermal. For non-relativistic energies, it is an exponential of the magnitude of the proton velocity. For ultra-relativistic energies, it can be characterized as a power law with a momentum-dependent slope. Subject headings: plasmas − MHD − turbulence
منابع مشابه
Turbulent transport and heating of trace heavy ions in hot magnetized plasmas.
Scaling laws for the transport and heating of trace heavy ions in low-frequency magnetized plasma turbulence are derived and compared with direct numerical simulations. The predicted dependences of turbulent fluxes and heating on ion charge and mass number are found to agree with numerical results for both stationary and differentially rotating plasmas. Heavy ion momentum transport is found to ...
متن کاملA pr 2 00 4 Stochastic Acceleration of Electrons and Protons . I . Acceleration by Parallel Propagating Waves
Stochastic acceleration of electrons and protons by waves propagating parallel to the large scale magnetic fields of magnetized plasmas is studied with emphasis on the feasibility of accelerating particles from a thermal background to relativistic energies and with the aim of determining the relative acceleration of the two species in one source. In general, the stochastic acceleration by these...
متن کاملar X iv : a st ro - p h / 04 01 58 5 v 1 2 7 Ja n 20 04 Stochastic Acceleration of Electrons and Protons . I . Acceleration by Parallel Propagating Waves
Stochastic acceleration of electrons and protons by waves propagating parallel to the large scale magnetic field of magnetized plasmas are studied with emphasis on the feasibility of accelerating particles from a thermal background to relativistic energies and with the aim of determining the relative acceleration of the two species in one source. A general result of this investigation is that s...
متن کاملA nonextensive statistics approach for Langmuir waves in relativistic plasmas
The nonextensive statistics formalism proposed by Tsallis has found many applications in systems with memory effects, long range spatial correlations, and in general whenever the phase space has fractal or multi-fractal structure. These features may appear naturally in turbulent or non-neutral plasmas. In fact, the equilibrium distribution functions which maximize the nonextensive entropy stron...
متن کاملThree-dimensional simulations of turbulent spectra in the local interstellar medium
Three-dimensional time dependent numerical simulations of compressible magnetohydrodynamic fluids describing super-Alfvénic, supersonic and strongly magnetized space and laboratory plasmas show a nonlinear relaxation towards a state of near incompressibility. The latter is characterized essentially by a subsonic turbulent Mach number. This transition is mediated dynamically by disparate spectra...
متن کامل