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1. Dissipation measures in weakly collisional plasmas

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab1516  

   Pezzi, O ; Liang, H ; Juno, J L ; Cassak, P A ; Vásconez, C L ; Sorriso-Valvo, L ; Perrone, D ; Servidio, S ; Roytershteyn, V ; TenBarge, J M ; et al ( June 2021 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   null (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT The physical foundations of the dissipation of energy and the associated heating in weakly collisional plasmas are poorly understood. Here, we compare and contrast several measures that have been used to characterize energy dissipation and kinetic-scale conversion in plasmas by means of a suite of kinetic numerical simulations describing both magnetic reconnection and decaying plasma turbulence. We adopt three different numerical codes that can also include interparticle collisions: the fully kinetic particle-in-cell vpic, the fully kinetic continuum Gkeyll, and the Eulerian Hybrid Vlasov–Maxwell (HVM) code. We differentiate between (i) four energy-based parameters, whose definition is related to energy transfer in a fluid description of a plasma, and (ii) four distribution function-based parameters, requiring knowledge of the particle velocity distribution function. There is an overall agreement between the dissipation measures obtained in the PIC and continuum reconnection simulations, with slight differences due to the presence/absence of secondary islands in the two simulations. There are also many qualitative similarities between the signatures in the reconnection simulations and the self-consistent current sheets that form in turbulence, although the latter exhibits significant variations compared to the reconnection results. All the parameters confirm that dissipation occurs close to regions of intense magnetic stresses, thus exhibiting local correlation. The distribution function-based measures show a broader width compared to energy-based proxies, suggesting that energy transfer is co-localized at coherent structures, but can affect the particle distribution function in wider regions. The effect of interparticle collisions on these parameters is finally discussed. 

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2. Reconstruction of Electron and Ion Distribution Functions in a Magnetotail Reconnection Diffusion Region

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JA027879  

   Ng, Jonathan ; Chen, Li‐Jen ; Hakim, Ammar ; Bhattacharjee, Amitava ( July 2020 , Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics)

   In the diffusion region of magnetotail reconnection, particle distributions are highly structured, exhibiting triangular shapes and multiple striations that deviate dramatically from the Maxwellian distribution. Fully kinetic simulations have been demonstrated to be capable of producing the essential structures of the observed distribution functions, yet are computationally not feasible for 3D global simulations. The fluid models used for large‐scale simulations, on the other hand, do not have the kinetic physics necessary for describing reconnection accurately. Our study aims to bridge fully kinetic and fluid simulations by quantifying the information required to capture the non‐Maxwellian features in the distributions underlying the closures used in the fluid code. We compare the results of fully kinetic simulations with observed electron velocity distributions in a magnetotail reconnection diffusion region and use the maximum entropy model to reconstruct electron and ion distributions using various numbers of moments obtained from the simulation. Our results indicate that using only local moments, the maximum entropy model can reproduce many of the features of the distributions: (1) the electron outflow distribution with a tilted triangular structure is reproduced with 21 or more moments in agreement with Ng et al. (2018,https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5041758) and (2) counterstreaming distributions can be captured with the 35‐moment model when the separation in velocity space between the populations is large.

    

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3. Local Proton Heating at Magnetic Discontinuities in Alfvénic and Non-Alfvénic Solar Wind

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1be5  

   González, C. A. ; Verniero, J. L. ; Bandyopadhyay, R. ; Tenerani, A. ( March 2024 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   We investigate the local proton energization at magnetic discontinuities/intermittent structures and the corresponding kinetic signatures in velocity phase space in Alfvénic (high cross helicity) and non-Alfvénic (low cross helicity) wind streams observed by Parker Solar Probe. By means of the partial variance of increments method, we find that the hottest proton populations are localized around compressible, coherent magnetic structures in both types of wind. Analysis of parallel and perpendicular temperature distributions suggest that the Alfvénic wind undergoes preferential enhancements ofT_∥at such structures, whereas the non-Alfvénic wind experiences preferentialT_⊥enhancements. Although proton beams are present in both types of wind, the proton velocity distribution function displays distinct features. Hot beams, i.e., beams with beam-to-core perpendicular temperatureT_⊥,b/T_⊥,cup to three times larger than the total distribution anisotropy, are found in the non-Alfvénic wind, whereas colder beams are in the Alfvénic wind. Our data analysis is complemented by 2.5D hybrid simulations in different geometrical setups, which support the idea that proton beams in Alfvénic and non-Alfvénic wind have different kinetic properties and different origins. The development of a perpendicular nonlinear cascade, favored in balanced turbulence, allows a preferential relative enhancement of the perpendicular plasma temperature and the formation of hot beams. Cold field-aligned beams are instead favored by Alfvén wave steepening. Non-Maxwellian distribution functions are found near discontinuities and intermittent structures, pointing to the fact that the nonlinear formation of small-scale structures is intrinsically related to the development of highly nonthermal features in collisionless plasmas. Our results contribute to understanding the role of different coherent structures in proton energization and their implication in collisionless energy dissipation processes in space plasmas.

    

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4. Thomson scattering diagnostics of nonthermal plasma from particle-in-cell simulations

   Farrell, Audrey ; Zhang, Chaojie ; Wu, Yipeng ; Nie, Zan ; Nambu, Noa ; Sinclair, Mitchell ; Marsh, Kenneth ; Joshi, Chandrasekhar ( April 2023 , Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop 2022)

   Optical Thomson scattering is now a mature diagnostic tool for precisely measuring local plasma density and temperature. These measurements typically take advantage of a simplified analytical model of the scattered spectrum, which is built upon the assumption that each plasma species is in thermal equilibrium. However, this assumption fails for most laboratory plasmas of interest, which are often produced through high field ionization of atoms via ultrashort laser pulses and vulnerable to several kinetic instabilities. While it is possible to analytically model the Thomson scattered spectrum for some non-Maxwellian distribution functions, it is often not practical to do so for laboratory plasmas with highly complex and unstable distribution functions. We present a new method for predicting the Thomson scattered spectrum from any plasma directly from fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations. This approach allows us to model the contributions of kinetic instabilities to the Thomson spectrum that aren’t taken into account in Maxwellian theory. We demonstrate this method’s capability to capture nonthermal features in the Thomson spectrum by simulating a simple bumpon- tail plasma as well as a more complex laser-ionized plasma. The versatility of this approach makes it an effective aid in the experimental design of Thomson diagnostics to directly characterize kinetic instabilities in laboratory plasmas. Index Terms—plasma measurement, low-temperature plasmas, plasma diagnostics, plasma simulation, plasma stability, plasma density, plasma temperature 

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5. Kinetic Modeling of Ionospheric Outflows in Pressure Cooker Environments

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JA031658  

   Albarran, R. M. ; Zettergren, M. ; Rowland, D. ; Klenzing, J. ; Clemmons, J. ( December 2023 , Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics)

   Plasma escape from the high‐latitude ionosphere (ion outflow) serves as a significant source of heavy plasma to the magnetospheric plasma sheet and ring current regions. Outflows alter mass density and reconnection rates, hence global responses of the magnetosphere. A new fully kinetic and semi‐kinetic model, KAOS (Kinetic model of Auroral ion OutflowS), is constructed from first principles which traces large numbers of individual O⁺ion macro‐particles along curved magnetic field lines, using a guiding‐center approximation, in order to facilitate calculation of ion distribution functions and moments. Particle forces include mirror and parallel electric field forces, a self‐consistent ambipolar electric field, and a parameterized source of ion cyclotron resonance wave heating, thought to be central to the transverse energization of ions. The model is initiated with a steady‐state ion density altitude profile and Maxwellian velocity distribution and particle trajectories are advanced via a direct simulation Monte Carlo scheme. This outlines the implementation of the kinetic outflow model, demonstrates the model's ability to achieve near‐hydrostatic equilibrium necessary for simulation spin‐up, and investigates L‐shell dependent wave heating and pressure cookers scenarios. This paper illustrates the model initialization process and numerical investigations of L‐shell dependent outflows and pressure cooker environments and serves to advance our understanding of the drivers and particle dynamics in the auroral ionosphere.

    

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