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Landau damped kinetic Alfvén waves and coronal heating

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 July 2009

R. P. SHARMA  and
SACHIN KUMAR
R. P. SHARMA
Affiliation:
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India (rpsharma@ces.iitd.ac.in, dynamicalfven@gmail.com)
SACHIN KUMAR
Affiliation:
Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India (rpsharma@ces.iitd.ac.in, dynamicalfven@gmail.com)
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Abstract

Some recent observations of solar corona suggest that the kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) turbulence may be responsible for electron acceleration in solar corona and coronal heating. In the present research, we investigate the turbulent spectra of KAW due to filamentation process in the presence of Landau damping and particle energization. We present here the numerical simulation of model equation governing the nonlinear dynamics of the KAW in the presence of Landau damping. When the ponderomotive and Joule heating nonlinearities are incorporated in the KAW dynamics, the power spectra of the turbulent field is evaluated and used for particle heating. Our results reveal the formation of damped coherent magnetic filamentary structures and the turbulent spectra. The effect of Landau damping is to make the turbulent spectra steeper. Two types of scalings k−3.6 and k−4 have been obtained. We have studied the turbulence with different initial conditions. Using the Fokker–Planck equation with the new velocity space diffusion coefficient, we find the distribution function of energetic electrons in these turbulent structures. Landau damped KAWs may be responsible for the acceleration of the energetic electrons in solar corona and coronal heating.

Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Plasma Physics , Volume 76 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 239 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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