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Wave-Particle Energy Exchange Directly Observed in a Kinetic Alfven-Branch WaveAlfven 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 NASAs Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, we utilize Earths 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 Alfven wave. Electrons confined between adjacent wave peaks may have contributed to saturation of damping effects via non-linear 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.
Document ID
20170002707
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes)
External Source(s)
doi:10.1038/ncomms14719
Authors
Daniel J. Gershman (University of Maryland, College Park College Park, Maryland, United States)
Adolfo F Vinas (Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
John C Dorelli (Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
Scott A Boardsen (University of Maryland, Baltimore County Baltimore, Maryland, United States)
Levon A Avanov (University of Maryland, College Park College Park, Maryland, United States)
Paul M. Bellan (California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California, United States)
Steven J. Schwartz (Imperial College London London, Westminster, United Kingdom)
Benoit Lavraud (University of Toulouse Toulouse, Midi-Pyrénées, France)
Victoria N Coffey (Marshall Space Flight Center Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, United States)
Michael O Chandler (Marshall Space Flight Center Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, United States)
Yoshifumi Saito (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science Tokyo, Japan)
William R Paterson (Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
Stephen A. Fuselier (Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, Texas, United States)
Robert E Ergun (University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, Colorado, United States)
Robert J Strangeway (University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States)
Christopher T. Russell (University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, United States)
Barbara L Giles (Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
Craig J. Pollock (Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
Roy B Torbert (Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
James L Burch (Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, Texas, United States)
Date Acquired
March 30, 2017
Publication Date
March 31, 2017
Publication Information
Publication: Nature Communications
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
Volume: 8
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2017
e-ISSN: 2041-1723
DOI: doi: 10.1038/ncomms14719
Subject Category
Plasma Physics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN39408
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG11PL02A
CONTRACT_GRANT: FA9550-11-1-0184
CONTRACT_GRANT: DE-FG02-04ER54755
CONTRACT_GRANT: DE-SC0010471
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG04EB99C
PROJECT: 673-2017-001
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF 1059519
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNH10CC04C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
magnetohydrodynamic
plasma waves
gyroradius
ion inertial
kinetic

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