Kappa Distributions: Theory and Applications in Space Plasmas

The plasma particle velocity distributions observed in the solar wind generally show enhanced (non-Maxwellian) suprathermal tails, decreasing as a power law of the velocity and well described by the family of Kappa distribution functions. The presence of non-thermal populations at different altitude...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solar physics 2010-11, Vol.267 (1), p.153-174
Main Authors: Pierrard, V., Lazar, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics and Astroparticles
Atmospheric Sciences
Corona
Kinetics
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Plasma
Solar physics
Space Exploration and Astronautics
Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics
Sun
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Summary:The plasma particle velocity distributions observed in the solar wind generally show enhanced (non-Maxwellian) suprathermal tails, decreasing as a power law of the velocity and well described by the family of Kappa distribution functions. The presence of non-thermal populations at different altitudes in space plasmas suggests a universal mechanism for their creation and important consequences concerning plasma fluctuations, the resonant and nonresonant wave – particle acceleration and plasma heating. These effects are well described by the kinetic approaches where no closure requires the distributions to be nearly Maxwellian. This paper summarizes and analyzes the various theories proposed for the Kappa distributions and their valuable applications in coronal and space plasmas.
ISSN:0038-0938
1573-093X
DOI:10.1007/s11207-010-9640-2