Wave-particle energy exchange directly observed in a kinetic Alfvén-branch wave

Daniel J. Gershman (), Adolfo F-Viñas, John C. Dorelli, Scott A. Boardsen, Levon A. Avanov, Paul M. Bellan, Steven J. Schwartz, Benoit Lavraud, Victoria N. Coffey, Michael O. Chandler, Yoshifumi Saito, William R. Paterson, Stephen A. Fuselier, Robert E. Ergun, Robert J. Strangeway, Christopher T. Russell, Barbara L. Giles, Craig J. Pollock, Roy B. Torbert and James L. Burch
Additional contact information
Daniel J. Gershman: University of Maryland
Adolfo F-Viñas: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
John C. Dorelli: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Scott A. Boardsen: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Levon A. Avanov: University of Maryland
Paul M. Bellan: California Institute of Technology
Steven J. Schwartz: Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London
Benoit Lavraud: Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse
Victoria N. Coffey: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Michael O. Chandler: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Yoshifumi Saito: JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
William R. Paterson: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Stephen A. Fuselier: Southwest Research Institute
Robert E. Ergun: Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado
Robert J. Strangeway: Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California
Christopher T. Russell: Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California
Barbara L. Giles: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Craig J. Pollock: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Roy B. Torbert: University of New Hampshire
James L. Burch: Southwest Research Institute

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Alfvén waves are fundamental plasma wave modes that permeate the universe. At small kinetic scales, they provide a critical mechanism for the transfer of energy between electromagnetic fields and charged particles. These waves are important not only in planetary magnetospheres, heliospheres and astrophysical systems but also in laboratory plasma experiments and fusion reactors. Through measurement of charged particles and electromagnetic fields with NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we utilize Earth’s magnetosphere as a plasma physics laboratory. Here we confirm the conservative energy exchange between the electromagnetic field fluctuations and the charged particles that comprise an undamped kinetic Alfvén wave. Electrons confined between adjacent wave peaks may have contributed to saturation of damping effects via nonlinear particle trapping. The investigation of these detailed wave dynamics has been unexplored territory in experimental plasma physics and is only recently enabled by high-resolution MMS observations.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14719

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