Small Scale Processes in the Solar Wind

Abstract

The solar wind provides a fascinating laboratory for the investigation of a wide range of plasma physical nonlinear processes, such as, e.g., turbulence, intermittency, magnetic reconnection and plasma heating. One of the key aspects for a deep understanding of these phenomena is the plasma behaviour at small scales. This chapter is intended as a discussion forum on the role played by small scales in solar wind plasma dynamics and/or evolution. Processes occurring at large scales are anyhow responsible for the generation of small scale kinetic fluctuations and structures that in turn have important feedback on the global system evolution. In particular, we will focus our attention on two topics, namely magnetic reconnection and kinetic effects at short spatial scales.