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Past studies of the properties of Alfven waves in the solar wind have indicated that the amplitude of the velocity fluctuations is almost always smaller than expected on the basis of the amplitude of the field fluctuations, even when plasma anisotropy is taken into account. Also, the alpha particles often do not participate in the wave motions because they "surf" on the proton fluid waves.
Analysis of IMP 1 (Explorer 43) plasma and magnetic field fluctuations on a scale of one hour revealed that linearly and circularly polarized Alfven waves are rarely present in the solar wind at 1 AU. The most prevalent microscale fluctuations appeared to be large-amplitude Alfven waves with small but non-zero fluctuations in the magnetic field intensity. These waves are present about 40% of the time and are predominantly propagating away from the sun.
We present results here from 2.5-D particle-in-cell simulations showing that the electrostatic (ES) components of broadband extremely low frequency (BBELF) waves could possibly be generated by cross-field plasma instabilities driven by the relative drifts between the heavy and light ion species in the electromagnetic (EM) Alfvenic component of the BBELF waves in a multi-ion plasma. The ES components consist of ion cyclotron as well as lower hybrid modes. We also demonstrate that the ES wave generation is directly involved in the transverse acceleration of ions (TAI) as commonly measured with the BBELF wave events. The heating is affected by ion cyclotron resonance in the cyclotron modes and Landau resonance in the lower hybrid waves. In the simulation we drive the plasma by the transverse electric field, E(sub y), of the EM waves; the frequency of E(sub y), omega(sub d), is varied from a frequency below the heavy ion cyclotron frequency, OMEGA(sub h), to below the light ion cyclotron frequency, OMEGA(sub i). We have also performed simulations for E(sub y) having a continuous spectrum given by a power law, namely, |Ey| approx. omega(sub d) (exp -alpha), where the exponent alpha = _, 1, and 2 in three different simulations. The driving electric field generates polarization and ExB drifts of the ions and electrons. When the interspecies relative drifts are sufficiently large, they drive electrostatic waves, which cause perpendicular heating of both light and heavy ions. The transverse ion heating found here is discussed in relation to observations from Cluster, FAST and Freja.
We suggest a source for high-frequency Alfven waves invoked in coronal heating and acceleration of the solar wind. The source is associated with small-scale magnetic loops in the chromospheric network.
Plasma and field data from Mariner 4 and 5 between 0.7 and 1.6 AU are used to study the radial dependence of the levels of microscale fluctuation associated with interplanetary Alfven waves. The observed decrease of these levels with increasing distance from the sun is consistent with little or no local generation or damping of the ambient Alfven waves over this range of radial distance.
Induction drag of long cylindrical satellites and Alfven waves emitted from them determining potential and current distribution and effect on energy loss
Transmission of Alfven waves through earth bow shock based on hydromagnetic shocks theory, discussing amplitude amplification
Outwardly propagating coronal Alfven waves pressure exertion on solar wind, using one fluid polytrope model
The simple theory of the decay instability of Alfven waves is strictly applicable only to a small-amplitude parent wave in a low-beta plasma, but, if the parent wave is circularly polarized, it is possible to analyze the situation without either of these restrictions. Results show that a large-amplitude circularly polarized wave is unstable with respect to decay into three waves, one longitudinal and one transverse wave propagating parallel to the parent wave and one transverse wave propagating antiparallel. The transverse decay products appear at frequencies which are the sum and difference of the frequencies of the parent wave and the longitudinal wave. The decay products are not familiar MHD modes except in the limit of small beta and small amplitude of the parent wave, in which case the decay products are a forward-propagating sound wave and a backward-propagating circularly polarized wave. In this limit the other transverse wave disappears. The effect of finite beta is to reduce the linear growth rate of the instability from the value suggested by the simple theory. Possible applications of these results to the theory of the solar wind are briefly touched upon.
The properties of Alfven waves propagating along a uniform horizontal field in a highly conducting incompressible medium in the presence of strong convective instability are examined in the Boussinesq approximation. In particular, it is sought to determine whether there are exact solutions to the dynamical equations in the presence of convective forces. It is shown that a class of exact solutions of arbitrary amplitude, but of limited form, which may be of some physical interest, does exist. For large amplitudes, any mixtures of polarization states are shown to cause scattering into new modes.
The mean electromotive force generated by nonlinear standing Alfven waves propagating along the mean magnetic field is investigated. It is shown that the alpha-effect can exist owing to the interaction between oppositely propagating two waves, provided that the initial fields have nonzero helicity. The result is discussed in the context of field-aligned currents and periodic particle flux variations in the earth's magnetosphere.
Nonlinear evolution equation for Alfven waves, propagating in streaming plasmas with nonuniform densities and inhomogeneous magnetic fields, is obtained by using reductive perturbation technique.
Induction drag of long cylindrical satellites and Alfven waves emitted from them, determining potential and current distribution and effect on energy loss
Spatio-temporal evolution, of large-amplitude Alfven waves, is investigated by means of their characteristic evolution equations as well as by MHD simulations.
Geometrical considerations based on a conical sheet model of the observed DAM sources show that DAM is generated on field lines in the active longitude sector of 200 + or - 90 deg. The present study shows how Io excites Alfven waves and calculates the propagation of these waves through the inhomogeneous torus and magnetosphere. The power flux at high latitudes is largest at two longitudes which are seen as the B1, B2, A, and C sources. The parallel electric field accompanying the Alfven wave pulses is also discussed, and it is shown that at high latitudes electrons can be accelerated to energies in excess of 1000 eV. It is suggested that these current carrying electrons excite ion-cyclotron, upper and lower-hybrid electrostatic waves which may all play crucial roles in the generation of DAM.
Analysis of solar wind fluctuation data show that the correlation between velocity and magnetic field fluctuations decreases when going farther away from the Sun. This decorrelation can be attributed either to the time evolution of the fluctuations, carried away by the solar wind, or to the interaction between the solar wind neutral sheet and Alfven waves. To check this second hypothesis we have numerically studied the propagation of Alfven waves in the solar wind neutral sheet. The initial conditions have been set up in order to guarantee B(exp 2) = const, so that the following numerical evolution is only due to the inhomogeneity in the background magnetic field. The analysis of the results shows that compressive structures are formed, mainly in the neutral sheet where they have been identified as pressure balanced structures, i.e., tangential discontinuities. Fast perturbations, which are also produced, have a tendency to leave the simulation domain, propagating also perpendicularly to the mean magnetic field. For this reason the level of fast perturbations is always smaller with respect to the previously cited plasma balanced structures, which are slow mode perturbations. A comparison between the numerical results and some particular observational issues is also presented.
Nonlinear three-wave interactions of linear normal modes are investigated for two-dimensional incompressible magnetohydrodynamics and the weakly three-dimensional Strauss equations in the case where a strong uniform background field B0 is present. In both systems the only resonant interaction affecting Alfven waves is caused by the shear of the background field plus the zero frequency components of the perturbation. It is shown that the Alfven waves are cascaded in wavenumber space by a mechanism equivalent to the resonant absorption at the Alfven resonance. For large wavenumbers perpendicular to B0, the cascade is described by Hamilton's ray equations, dk/dt = -(first-order) partial derivative of omega with respect to vector r, where omega includes the effects of the zero frequency perturbations.
This paper presents a numerical study of the time evolution of plane, cosmic-ray modified shocks with magnetic field parallel to the shock normal, based on the diffusive shock acceleration formalism and including the effects from the finite propagation speed and energy of Alfven waves responsible for controlling the transport of the cosmic rays. The simulations discussed are based on a three-fluid model for the dynamics, but a more complete formalism is laid out for future work. The results of the simulations confirm earlier steady state analyses that found these Alfven transport effects to be potentially important when the upstream Alfven speed and the gas sound speed are comparable, i.e., when the plasma and magnetic pressures are similar. It is also clear, however, that the impact of Alfven transport effects, which tend to slow shock evolution and reduce the time asymptotic cosmic-ray pressure in the shock, is strongly dependent upon uncertain details in the transport models. Both cosmic-ray advection tied to streaming Alfven waves and dissipation of wave energy are important to include in the models. Further, Alfven transport properties on both sides of the shock are also influential.