Particle-In-Cell simulations of resonant interactions between whistler waves and electrons in the near-Sun solar wind: scattering of the strahl into the halo and heat flux regulation.

Abstract

<p>Electron velocity distribution functions, initially composed of core and strahl populations as typically encountered in the near-Sun solar wind and as recently observed by Parker Solar Probe, have been modeled via fully kinetic Particle-In-Cell simulations. It has been demonstrated that, as a consequence of the evolution of the electron velocity distribution function, two branches of the whistler heat flux instability can be excited, which can drive whistler waves propagating in the direction parallel or oblique to the background magnetic field. First, the strahl undergoes pitch-angle scattering with oblique whistler waves, which provokes the reduction of the strahl drift velocity and the simultaneous broadening of its pitch angle distribution. Moreover, the interaction with the oblique whistler waves results in the scattering towards higher perpendicular velocities of resonant strahl electrons and in the appearance of a suprathermal halo population which, at higher energies, deviates from the Maxwellian distribution. Later on, the excited whistler waves shift towards smaller angles of propagation and secondary scattering processes with quasi-parallel whistler waves lead to a redistribution of the scattered particles into a more symmetric halo. All processes are accompanied by a significant decrease of the heat flux carried by the strahl population along the magnetic field direction, although the strongest heat flux rate decrease is simultaneous with the propagation of the oblique whistler waves.</p>

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