Self-consistent model of the pick protons, Alfvenic turbulence, and solar wind heating in the outer heliosphere

Physics – Plasma Physics

Scientific paper

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[2152] Interplanetary Physics / Pickup Ions, [2159] Interplanetary Physics / Plasma Waves And Turbulence, [7827] Space Plasma Physics / Kinetic And Mhd Theory, [7867] Space Plasma Physics / Wave/Particle Interactions

Scientific paper

It is widely believed that the solar wind heating in the outer heliosphere is significantly controlled by a turbulent dissipation of the Alfven and/or fast magnetosonic wave energy generated during isotropization of the newly born interstellar pickup protons. The generated waves feed the background solar wind turbulence, participating in a nonlinear energy cascading to a smaller spatial scale, heating the pickup protons itself, and ultimately heat the core solar wind due to a resonance damping at small scales. In order to self-consistently treat a system of the pickup protons, Alfvenic turbulence, and the core solar wind protons we use a set of three equations. The two kinetic equations are used for the pickup proton distribution function and the Alfvenic power spectral density to describe the wave-particle interaction in a "quasilinear approximation". The proton kinetic equation includes a spatial transport with the solar wind velocity, adiabatic cooling, diffusion in the velocity space, and a source of the pickup protons due to the charge exchange between the interstellar hydrogen and the solar wind protons. The wave kinetic equation includes the wave transport with an expanding solar wind, wave damping by the pickup and solar wind protons, the wave energy source due to isotropization of the newly born interstellar pickup protons and, in addition to a pure quasilinear approximation, the wave energy diffusion in a wave number space due to the nonlinear wave-wave interaction. The core solar wind protons in our model are assumed to be Maxwellian, and the third equation governs an evolution of the solar wind proton temperature including an energy source due to the Alfven wave dissipation by the solar wind protons. In this study we present our initial results for the pickup protons, Alfven waves, and solar wind in the outer heliosphere along with the discussion and comparison with the Voyager 2 observations of the core solar wind temperature.

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