Counterstreaming magnetized plasmas with kappa distributions – I. Parallel wave propagation

Non-thermal particle distributions of kappa type are frequently encountered in collisionless plasmas from space. The electromagnetic emissions coming from space are believed to originate in the counterstreaming structures of plasmas, which are ubiquitous in many astrophysical systems. Here, we inves...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2008-10, Vol.390 (1), p.168-174
Main Authors: Lazar, M., Schlickeiser, R., Poedts, S., Tautz, R. C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anisotropy
Astronomy
Astrophysics
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
instabilities
Magnetic fields
methods: analytical
Plasma physics
plasmas
waves
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Summary:Non-thermal particle distributions of kappa type are frequently encountered in collisionless plasmas from space. The electromagnetic emissions coming from space are believed to originate in the counterstreaming structures of plasmas, which are ubiquitous in many astrophysical systems. Here, we investigate the dispersion properties and the stability of a counterstreaming plasma system with temperature anisotropies modelled by a bi-kappa distribution function. The numerical evaluation of parallel modes shows growth rates lower than those obtained for Maxwellian plasmas, with a strong dependence on the spectral index of the particle distribution function. If all other parameters are known, measuring the instability growth time can provide a possible tool for the determination of the spectral index κ.
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13638.x