Bidirectional energy cascades and the origin of kinetic Alfvénic and whistler turbulence in the solar wind

The observed steep kinetic scale turbulence spectrum in the solar wind raises the question of how that turbulence originates. Observations of keV energetic electrons during solar quiet time suggest them as a possible source of free energy to drive kinetic turbulence. Using particle-in-cell simulatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2014-02, Vol.112 (6), p.061101-061101, Article 061101
Main Authors: Che, H, Goldstein, M L, Viñas, A F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cascades
Excitation
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Free energy
Solar wind
Turbulence
Turbulent flow
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Summary:The observed steep kinetic scale turbulence spectrum in the solar wind raises the question of how that turbulence originates. Observations of keV energetic electrons during solar quiet time suggest them as a possible source of free energy to drive kinetic turbulence. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we explore how the free energy released by an electron two-stream instability drives Weibel-like electromagnetic waves that excite wave-wave interactions. Consequently, both kinetic Alfvénic and whistler turbulence are excited that evolve through inverse and forward magnetic energy cascades.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.061101