ON THE COMPETITION BETWEEN RADIAL EXPANSION AND COULOMB COLLISIONS IN SHAPING THE ELECTRON VELOCITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION: KINETIC SIMULATIONS

We present numerical simulations of the solar wind using a fully kinetic model which takes into account the effects of particle's binary collisions in a quasi-neutral plasma in spherical expansion. The relative weights and drift velocities for the two populations observed in our simulations are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2012-12, Vol.760 (2), p.1-12
Main Authors: LANDI, S, MATTEINI, L, PANTELLINI, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANISOTROPY
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Collisions
Computer simulation
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
Drift
Earth, ocean, space
ELECTRON COLLISIONS
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
Electron velocity distribution
Exact sciences and technology
HEAT FLUX
ION COLLISIONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Physics
PLASMA
PLASMA EXPANSION
Populations
SOLAR ELECTRONS
SOLAR WIND
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
VELOCITY
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Summary:We present numerical simulations of the solar wind using a fully kinetic model which takes into account the effects of particle's binary collisions in a quasi-neutral plasma in spherical expansion. The relative weights and drift velocities for the two populations observed in our simulations are in excellent agreement with the relative weights and drift velocities for both core and strahl populations observed in the real solar wind. The radial evolution of the main moments of the electron velocity distribution function is in the range observed in the solar wind. The electron temperature anisotropy with respect to the magnetic field direction is found to be related to the ratio between the collisional time and the solar wind expansion time. The presented results show that the electron dynamics in the solar wind cannot be understood without considering the role of collisions.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1088/0004-637x/760/2/143