Evidence of Interaction between Ion-Scale Waves and Ion Velocity Distributions in the Solar Wind

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Main Authors: Yogesh, Ofman, Leon, Boardsen, Scott A, Klein, Kristopher, Martinovic, Mihailo, Sadykov, Viacheslav M, Verniero, Jaye, Shankarappa, Niranjana, Jian, Lan K, Mostafavi, Parisa, Huang, Jia, Paulson, K. W.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Yogesh
Ofman, Leon
Boardsen, Scott A
Klein, Kristopher
Martinovic, Mihailo
Sadykov, Viacheslav M
Verniero, Jaye
Shankarappa, Niranjana
Jian, Lan K
Mostafavi, Parisa
Huang, Jia
Paulson, K. W.
author_facet Yogesh
Ofman, Leon
Boardsen, Scott A
Klein, Kristopher
Martinovic, Mihailo
Sadykov, Viacheslav M
Verniero, Jaye
Shankarappa, Niranjana
Jian, Lan K
Mostafavi, Parisa
Huang, Jia
Paulson, K. W.
contents Recent in situ observations from Parker Solar Probe (PSP) near perihelia reveal ion beams, temperature anisotropies, and kinetic wave activity. These features are likely linked to solar wind heating and acceleration. During PSP Encounter 17 (at $11.4R_s$) on Sep-26-2023, the PSP/FIELDS instrument detected enhanced ion-scale wave activity associated with deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium in ion velocity distribution functions (VDFs) observed by the PSP/Solar Probe Analyzers-Ion (SPAN-I). Dense beams (secondary populations) were present in the proton VDFs during this wave activity. Using bi-Maxwellian fits to the proton VDFs, we found that the density of the proton beam population increased during the wave activity and, unexpectedly, surpassed the core population at certain intervals. Interestingly, the wave power was reduced during the intervals when the beam population density exceeded the core density. The drift velocity of the beams decreases from 0.9 to 0.7 of the Alfvén speed and the proton core shows a higher temperature anisotropy ($T_\perp/T_\parallel>2.5$) during these intervals. We conclude that the observations during these intervals are consistent with a reconnection event during a heliospheric current sheet crossing. During this event, $α$ particle parameters (density, velocity, and temperature anisotropy) remained nearly constant. Using linear analysis, we examined how the proton beam drives instability or wave dissipation. Furthermore, We investigated the nonlinear evolution of ion kinetic instabilities using hybrid kinetic simulations. This study provides direct clues about energy transfer between particles and waves in the young solar wind.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_02999
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Evidence of Interaction between Ion-Scale Waves and Ion Velocity Distributions in the Solar Wind
Yogesh
Ofman, Leon
Boardsen, Scott A
Klein, Kristopher
Martinovic, Mihailo
Sadykov, Viacheslav M
Verniero, Jaye
Shankarappa, Niranjana
Jian, Lan K
Mostafavi, Parisa
Huang, Jia
Paulson, K. W.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Recent in situ observations from Parker Solar Probe (PSP) near perihelia reveal ion beams, temperature anisotropies, and kinetic wave activity. These features are likely linked to solar wind heating and acceleration. During PSP Encounter 17 (at $11.4R_s$) on Sep-26-2023, the PSP/FIELDS instrument detected enhanced ion-scale wave activity associated with deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium in ion velocity distribution functions (VDFs) observed by the PSP/Solar Probe Analyzers-Ion (SPAN-I). Dense beams (secondary populations) were present in the proton VDFs during this wave activity. Using bi-Maxwellian fits to the proton VDFs, we found that the density of the proton beam population increased during the wave activity and, unexpectedly, surpassed the core population at certain intervals. Interestingly, the wave power was reduced during the intervals when the beam population density exceeded the core density. The drift velocity of the beams decreases from 0.9 to 0.7 of the Alfvén speed and the proton core shows a higher temperature anisotropy ($T_\perp/T_\parallel>2.5$) during these intervals. We conclude that the observations during these intervals are consistent with a reconnection event during a heliospheric current sheet crossing. During this event, $α$ particle parameters (density, velocity, and temperature anisotropy) remained nearly constant. Using linear analysis, we examined how the proton beam drives instability or wave dissipation. Furthermore, We investigated the nonlinear evolution of ion kinetic instabilities using hybrid kinetic simulations. This study provides direct clues about energy transfer between particles and waves in the young solar wind.
title Evidence of Interaction between Ion-Scale Waves and Ion Velocity Distributions in the Solar Wind
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.02999