EXCITATION OF KINETIC ALFVÉN WAVES BY DENSITY STRIATION IN MAGNETO-PLASMAS

Abstract

Field-aligned density striation is one of the most common inhomogeneity phenomena in magneto-plasmas, such as in the solar coronal plasma and terrestrial auroral plasma. Kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) can play an important role in the inhomogeneous heating of coronal magneto-plasmas as well as in the local acceleration of auroral energetic electrons. In this paper, we study the dispersion and instability of KAWs in a magneto-plasma with density striation structures. Results show that KAWs become unstable in the presence of the density striation and the corresponding instability has a maximal growth rate at the perpendicular wavelength close to the spatial scale of the density gradient. Related experimental phenomena in both laboratory and space plasmas are discussed. It is suggested that the excitation of KAWs by the density striation of magneto-plasmas can be of potential importance in understanding the physics of the formation of magneto-plasma filaments and their heating mechanisms, which are often present in the terrestrial auroral plasma, the solar coronal plasma, and other astrophysical plasmas.