Abstract
The theory of parametric interaction of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) with convective cells in finite β plasmas is reconsidered. We use nonlinear equations that account for nonzero electron temperature effects. With the help of a standard multiscale expansion, we then derive a general equation for the electrostatic and magnetostatic convective cells. It is found that the electrostatic convective cells represent vortex plasma motions (VPM) with very large impedance ratio. They are associated with the large‐scale part of the dispersion relation. On the other hand, the short‐scale convective cells correspond to filamentary field‐aligned current (FAC) structures or magnetostatic modes. A close inspection of our new dispersion relation shows that the electrostatic convective cells as well as the magnetostatic modes do not grow when the Alfvén waves are in the kinetic regime, i.e., in finite β plasmas. The relevance of our theory to satellite observations is stressed.
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