Simulations of Plasma Expansion: the Role of Kinetic Instabilities

Physics – Plasma Physics

Scientific paper

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[7829] Space Plasma Physics / Kinetic Waves And Instabilities, [7833] Space Plasma Physics / Mathematical And Numerical Techniques

Scientific paper

We present implicit Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations of the solar wind expansion. The aim is to better understand and quantify the role of kinetic instabilities for a plasma that expands in a decreasing magnetic field. While adiabatic invariance forces the expanding plasma to increase its parallel temperature anisotropy, the firehose instability, driven by that anisotropy, should prevent the formation of highly anisotropic plasma. The two mechanisms are therefore antagonist. We have performed 2D3V simulations with a fully-kinetic implicit PIC code. The geometry chosen allows for the free streaming of particles in a fixed open box, without the need for developing an expanding box algorithm. We discuss results for both a subsonic and a supersonic plasma. Moreover, we show that a straightforward application of scaling arguments makes the results relevant to the solar wind scenario.

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