Ultrafast electron holes in plasma phase space dynamics

Electron holes (EH) are localized modes in plasma kinetic theory which appear as vortices in phase space. Earlier research on EH is based on the Schamel distribution function (df). A novel df is proposed here, generalizing the original Schamel df in a recursive manner. Nonlinear solutions obtained by kinetic simulations are presented, with velocities twice the electron thermal speed. Using 1D-1V kinetic simulations, their propagation characteristics are traced and their stability is established by studying their long-time evolution and their behavior through mutual collisions.

On ion temperature dependence of symmetric magnetic reconnection

<p>Various simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection reveal that the process is typically fast, with the reconnection rate being of the order of 0.1. Systematic numerical and observational studies of upstream parameters dependence (density, magnetic field) concord the basic Sweet-Parker-like predictions that the dynamical properties scale globally with the Alfven speed, with particle heating scaling as the Alfven speed squared. In this study, we perform a set of symmetric 2D PIC simulations starting from Harris current sheet but differ in upstream background plasma ion temperature. The exhaust velocity in such a setup is known to have explicit temperature dependence, leading to a reduction of the jet velocity at high temperatures. We suggest that the global reconnection rate is controlled by this outflow velocity since the reconnection electric field in the quasi-steady stage is the motional (convective) electric field of the ion bulk flow within the exhaust. Consequently, if the upstream thermal speed is above the Alfven velocity, then the reconnection rate drops. On top of that, the electron-ion temperature partition in the exhaust depends strongly on the upstream ion temperature, which we attribute to the scaling in plasma compression and development of the parallel electrostatic potential in the exhaust. </p>

Wave–particle resonance condition test for ion-kinetic waves in the solar wind

Conditions for the Landau and cyclotron resonances are tested for 543 waves (identified as local peaks in the energy spectra) in the magnetic field fluctuations of the solar wind measured by the Cluster spacecraft on a tetrahedral scale of 100 km. The resonance parameters are evaluated using the frequencies in the plasma rest frame, the parallel components of the wavevectors, the ion cyclotron frequency, and the ion thermal speed. The observed waves show a character of the sideband waves associated with the ion Bernstein mode, and are in a weak agreement with the fundamental electron cyclotron resonance in spite of the ion-kinetic scales. The electron cyclotron resonance is likely taking place in solar wind turbulence near 1 AU (astronomical unit).

Sub-10 nm particle growth by vapor condensation – effects of vapor molecule size and particle thermal speed

The growth of freshly formed nanoparticles has been investigated. A new analytical expression based on a recently developed exact solution for the condensational growth rate has been derived. Based on the new growth rate, a new approximate but accurate analytical expression for growth time has been derived. The expression includes transition regime effects on growth, molecule size effects on the collision cross section and particle thermal speed effects on the relative collisional speeds – the last two of which are typically neglected, but may have significant effects when dealing with the growth of freshly nucleated particles. To demonstrate the use of the derived expressions, the contribution of sulphuric acid and organic compounds on sub 3 nm and sub 10 nm particle growth rates has been studied. For sulphuric acid also the effect of hydration as function of relative humidity has been taken into account. According to the new expression the sulphuric acid concentration needed for 1 nm/h growth in sub 3 nm range is ca. 1.5×107 cm−3, which is a factor of 1.5 smaller than values typically used in aerosol physics based on standard model in kinetic regime.

On ion-dust streaming instability in a collisional magnetized plasma with warm dust

This brief communication discusses theoretically a resistive ion-dust streaming instability in a collisional dusty plasma, where the ions and electrons are magnetized, and the dust is unmagnetized. The instability is driven by ions streaming along the magnetic field. The emphasis is on the case where the dust has large thermal speed, and where the ion drift speed is ≲ the ion thermal speed. Application to possible laboratory experimental parameters is considered.