More Like this

1. Polarization and properties of low-frequency waves in warm magnetized two-fluid plasma

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0149227  

   Choi, Cheong R.; Woo, M.-H.; Ryu, Kwangsun; Lee, D.-Y.; Yoon, P. H. (September 2023, Physics of Plasmas)

   This paper presents the derivation of a general wave dispersion relation for warm magnetized plasma under the two-fluid formalism. The discussion is quite general except for the assumption of low frequency and slow phase speed, for which the displacement current is negligible, under the implicit assumption that the plasma is sufficiently dense to satisfy the condition ωpe>ωce, where ωpe and ωce denote the plasma oscillation frequency and electron gyro frequency, respectively. The present discussion does not invoke charge neutrality associated with the fluctuations although it is implicitly satisfied. The resulting dispersion relation that includes the fluid thermal effects shows that there are three eigen modes, which include those corresponding to ideal MHD, namely, fast, slow, and kinetic Alfvén waves, as well as higher-frequency modes including the ion and electron cyclotron and lower-hybrid resonances. The fluid effects in the ideal MHD wave branches are influenced by the finite Larmor radius scales, and when the wave number in the cross field direction is comparable to these values, the fluid effects become significant. It is found that the Larmor radius should be interpreted in the sense as ion-acoustic gyro-radius instead of ion thermal gyro radius only. That is, it is found that the electrons also contribute to the non-ideal effect associated with the kinetic Alfvén wave. A comprehensive explanation of the polarization of each mode is also presented. The present findings indicate that the polarity may change its sign only for the kinetic Alfvén mode branch and that such a transition is based on the propagation angle. When such a change does take place, it is found that the kinetic Alfvén wave transits to an ion-acoustic mode. For each branch, it is also found that the electric field along the ambient magnetic field is purely transverse. 

   more » « less
2. Particle-in-cell simulations – ion beam instabilities and the generation of Alfvén and whistler waves in low β plasma

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad2897  

   Che, H; Benz, A O; Zank, G P (September 2023, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT Ion beam-driven instabilities in a collisionless space plasma with low β, i.e. low plasma and magnetic pressure ratio, are investigated using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Specifically, the effects of different ion drift velocities on the development of Buneman and resonant electromagnetic (EM) right-handed (RH) ion beam instabilities are studied. Our simulations reveal that both instabilities can be driven when the ion beam drift exceeds the theoretical thresholds. The Buneman instability, which is weakly triggered initially, dissipates only a small fraction of the kinetic energy of the ion beam while causing significant electron heating, owing to the small electron-ion mass ratio. However, we find that the ion beam-driven Buneman instability is quenched effectively by the resonant EM RH ion beam instability. Instead, the resonant EM RH ion beam instability dominates when the ion drift velocity is larger than the Alfvén speed, leading to the generation of RH Alfvén waves and RH whistler waves. We find that the intensity of Alfvén waves decreases with decrease of ion beam drift velocity, while the intensity of whistler waves increases. Our results provide new insights into the complex interplay between ion beams and plasma instabilities in low β collisionless space plasmas. 

   more » « less
3. Unified fluid theory of the collisional thermal Farley–Buneman instability including magnetized multi-species ions

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0155500  

   Dimant, Y S; Oppenheim, M M; Evans, S; Martinez-Sykora, J (October 2023, Physics of Plasmas)

   This paper develops a unified linear theory of cross field plasma instabilities, including the Farley–Buneman, electron thermal, and ion thermal instabilities, in spatially uniform collisional plasmas with partially unmagnetized multi-species ions. Collisional plasma instabilities in weakly ionized, highly dissipative, weakly magnetized plasmas play an important role in the lower Earth's ionosphere and may be of importance in other planetary ionospheres, stellar atmospheres, cometary tails, molecular clouds, accretion disks, etc. In the Earth's ionosphere, these collisional plasma instabilities cause intense electron heating. In the solar chromosphere, they can do the same—an effect originally suggested from spectroscopic observations and modeling. Based on a simplified 5-moment multi-fluid model, the theoretical analysis presented in this paper produces the linear dispersion relation for the combined Thermal Farley–Buneman Instability with an important long-wavelength limit analyzed in detail. This limit provides an easy interpretation of different instability drivers and wave dissipation. This analysis of instability, combined with simulations, will enable us to better understand plasma waves and turbulence in these commonly occurring collisional space plasmas. 

   more » « less
4. The existence of non-resonant gyro lines and their detectability by Thomson scatter radars

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2025.1607631  

   Longley, William J; Goodwin, Lindsay V; Vierinen, Juha (November 2025, Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences)

   Thomson scatter radars have successfully measured plasma parameters in the ionosphere for over 60 years. Fundamentally, the radars measure increased power returns when the Bragg scattering condition is met by a source of density fluctuations in the plasma. Typically, wave modes of the plasma provide the source of structuring, and the radars measure strong power returns at the ion line which is associated with the ion-acoustic mode, the gyro line which is associated with the electrostatic whistler mode, and the plasma line that comes from the Langmuir mode. However, the existence of an ion-acoustic mode or electrostatic whistler mode is not guaranteed in the ionosphere. In this study, a formalism is developed to explain non-resonant wave modes as features occurring at frequencies where the dielectric function has a local minimum as opposed to a root corresponding to the typical resonant wave mode. With this formalism, the frequency of non-resonant waves is numerically solved as a function of basic plasma parameters. By solving for minima of the dielectric function, the frequency and intensity of gyro lines is determined for a wide range of plasma temperatures and densities. This analysis explains why Arecibo gyro lines are typically weak in intensity and result from non-resonant waves. For VHF systems like EISCAT, gyro lines are shown to be strong spectral peaks corresponding to standard resonant solutions for electrostatic whistler waves. 

   more » « less
5. Modeling of Plasma Wave Generation by Orbiting Space Objects for Proximity Detection

   Bernhardt, Paul; Scott, Lauchie; Howarth, Andrew; Foss, Victoria; Morales, George J (September 2023, 2023 Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Proceedings)

   Electromagnetic waves excited by satellites and space debris moving through the earth’s plasma in low earth orbit can be detected in situ by a technique called Space Object Identification by Measurements of Orbit-Driven Waves (SOIMOW). Proximity measurements of space objects with plasma waves may allow tracking of space debris below the normal detection thresholds traditionally accomplished by optical telescopes and radar ranging sensors. SOIMOW uses in situ plasma receivers to identify space objects during orbital conjunctions. Satellites and other space objects moving through the near-earth ionosphere between 200 and 1000 km altitude become electrically charged by both electron collection and photo emission in sunlight. These hypersonic, charged objects excite a wide range of plasma waves. The SOIMOW technique has shown that electromagnetic plasma waves from known objects may be observed out to ranges of tens of kilometers, providing information on presence of the space objects. The SOIMOW concept has been demonstrated with the Radio Receiver Instrument (RRI) on the Swarm-E satellite. The amplitude, spectral, and polarization changes of the RRI data are consistent with electromagnetic, compressional Alfvén waves that are launched by charged space objects traveling across magnetic field lines. In addition, electrostatic waves at the space object can be generated by a lower hybrid drift or an ion acoustic wave instability. Both in situ electric field probes and remote detection of scattered satellite waves are being investigated to determine the location of orbiting objects. 

   more » « less