A new nonlinear diffusion formalism in a magnetized plasma - Application to space physics and astrophysics

Abstract

A novel diffusion formalism that takes into account the finite width of resonances is presented. The resonance diagram technique is shown to reproduce the details of the particle orbits very accurately, and can be used to determine the acceleration/scattering in the presence of a given wave spectrum. Ways in which the nonlinear orbits can be incorporated into the diffusion equation are shown. The resulting diffusion equation is an extension of the Q-L theory to cases where the waves have large amplitudes and/or are coherent. This new equation does not have a gap at 90 deg in cases where the individual orbits can cross the gap. The conditions under which the resonance gap at 90-deg pitch angle exits are also examined.