Scattering by the broadband electrostatic turbulence in the space plasma

Abstract

The broadband electrostatic turbulence that is produced by electrostatic solitary waves and associated with strong parallel currents is widely observed in the space plasma. In this paper, we develop a basis for quantifying particle scattering by the broadband electrostatic turbulence. We show that the pitch angle and energy scattering rates can be computed using the classical quasi-linear theory in spite of the fact that the turbulence is produced by nonlinear solitary waves. The developed formalism is applied to estimate the particle scattering rates by the broadband turbulence observed in the Earth's inner magnetosphere. We show that the scattering rates of ions are negligible, while the pitch-angle scattering of electrons is sufficiently fast to drive valuable electron losses to the atmosphere. The anomalous dissipation of a parallel current and anomalous electron heating by the broadband turbulence are evaluated.