Electron Acoustic Mode Research Articles

Potential for electron acoustic mode in the coma of a weakly outgassing comet

This study aims to explore the electron acoustic (EA) mode in the vicinity of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, considering the existence of multiple electron species. In Region I, where all three suprathermal, warm and cold electron populations present and in Region II, where only warm and cold electrons present there is a chance to observe the EA mode for the plasma parameters measured at the comet. At smaller wave number (k), hotter electrons whereas at larger k, the cold electrons cause damping of the mode, and the mode only propagates at intermediate wave lengths. In these regions, it is determined that the mode observation enhances with the streaming speeds of hotter species, and it could be observed even for , which is not possible at lower or in the absence of drift speeds. In Region III, both warm and suprathermal electrons significantly damp the mode and hence, it is non-observable for the reported plasma parameters, and the mode could be only observable for the temperature ratio and surprisingly, the most favorable density for the observation is . Here, and stand for suprathermal and warm electron temperatures, respectively.

Electron holes in a regularized kappa background

Abstract. The pseudopotential method is used to derive electron hole structures in a suprathermal plasma with a regularized κ probability distribution function background. The regularized character allows the exploration of small κ values beyond the standard suprathermal case for which κ>3/2 is a necessary condition. We found the nonlinear dispersion relation yielding the amplitude of the electrostatic potential in terms of the remaining parameters, in particular the drift velocity, the wavenumber and the spectral index. Periodic, solitary wave, drifting and non-drifting solutions have been identified. In the linear limit, the dispersion relation yields generalized Langmuir and electron acoustic plasma modes. Standard electron hole structures are regained in the κ≫1 limit.

A Mechanism for Large-Amplitude Parallel Electrostatic Waves Observed at the Magnetopause

Large-amplitude electrostatic waves propagating parallel to the background magnetic field have been observed at the Earth’s magnetopause by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft. These waves are observed in the region where there is an intermixing of magnetosheath and magnetospheric plasmas. The plasma in the intermixing region is modeled as a five-component plasma consisting of three types of electrons, namely, two counterstreaming hot electron beams and cold electrons, and two types of ions, namely, cold background protons and a hot proton beam. Sagdeev pseudo-potential technique is used to study the parallel propagating nonlinear electrostatic solitary structures. The model predicts four types of modes, namely, slow ion-acoustic mode, fast ion-acoustic mode, slow electron-acoustic mode and fast electron-acoustic modes. Except the fast ion-acoustic mode, all other modes support solitons. Whereas slow ion-acoustic solitons have positive potentials, both slow and fast electron-acoustic solitons have negative potentials. For the case of 4% cold electron density, the slow ion-acoustic solitons have electric field ∼(40–120) mV m−1. The fast Fourier transforms (FFT) of slow ion-acoustic solitons produce broadband frequency spectra having peaks between ∼100 Hz to 1000 Hz. These theoretical predictions are in good agreement with the observations. The slow and fast electron-acoustic solitons could be relevant in explaining the low-intensity high (>1 kHz) frequency waves which are also observed at the same time.

The Potential Role of Modified Electron Acoustic Wave and Nonlinear Mode Coupling in Mono‐Energetic Aurora

AbstractResults from a 1D kinetic simulation, for the first time, reveal the important role of modified electron acoustic wave (MEAW) in auroral electron acceleration. Parallel electric fields, generated due to the mode coupling between kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) and MEAWs in the transition region from the magnetosphere and the ionosphere, can be sustained by continuous energy input carried by Alfven waves from the magnetosphere. Under the incidence of long‐period Alfven waves carrying upward field‐aligned currents, a parallel potential drop can be formed in the transition region, leading to mono‐energetic electron acceleration. Such a mechanism provides a possible link between shear Alfven waves and the mesoscale mono‐energetic auroral electron acceleration.

Low frequency electrostatic mode generated by electromagnetic waves in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere with two distinct electrons

The generation of low frequency electrostatic mode by parametric decay of electromagnetic waves (EMWs) in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere with exponentially truncated kappa distributed hot electrons and cold electrons is studied. Nonlinear dispersion equation for the parametric process is derived from kinetic theory. The parametric instability of EMWs decay into low frequency electrostatic normal mode (ion acoustic like wave modes and electron acoustic wave modes) and electrostatic quasi–mode in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere are numerically analyzed. It is shown that parametric instability occurs only when the EMW is sufficiently strong if the collisions between ions and electrons are taken into account. The growth rate and the threshold conditions of the decay instability depend on the concentration and distribution of hot electrons. Because they change the dispersion and the damping rate of normal mode, the collisional damping of sideband EMW. In addition, the excitation of electrostatic normal mode by parametric decay of EMWs is more difficult than the excitation of electrostatic quasi–mode. The growth rate of EMWs decaying into electrostatic quasi–mode is much larger than the ones of decaying into electrostatic normal mode. But the frequency of electrostatic quasi–mode corresponding to the maximum growth rate can be as low as a few tens Hz. The mechanism may excite the electrostatic mode with frequency comparable to those of the ultra–low frequency electric fields observed in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere.

Time-fractional electron-acoustic shocks in magnetoplasma with superthermal electrons

The linear and nonlinear characteristics of electron-acoustic (EA) shocks are examined in an electron–ion (EI) magnetoplasma containing superthermal electrons. A linear dispersion relation is determined by using magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) equations, revealing the excitations of electron-acoustic and Langmuir modes. Employing the reduction perturbation (RP) method, a Korteweg-de Vries Burgers (KdVB) equation is derived that admits evaluation of the EA shocks. The latter has an effect on variations in the superthermality index (κe) and the streaming effect (vo). For the time fractional shock solutions, a time fractional KdVB equation is obtained by method of variation. The mathbbJ-transform decomposition method is also used to derive higher order shock wave solutions. The shock waves are significantly altered by the relevant plasma parameters. This study is important in understanding the coherent EA modes in superthermal magnetoplasmas, relevant to the magnetosphere, the ionosphere, as well as the laboratory facilities.

Rogue Wave Generation Through Nonlinear Self-Interaction of Electrostatic Waves in Dense Plasma

In this work, we start with the quantum hydrodynamic model equations for two temperature-populated electrons in a dense plasma with quantum effects. We obtain the KdV equation for the electron acoustic (EAW) mode. The EAW self-interacts to form a rogue wave-type envelop soliton which is described by the nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) equation. To study the stability criteria, we transform the KdV and NLS equations into its dynamical system counterparts and analyze the phase portraits and carry out the bifurcation analysis. The possibility of hyperchaos is discussed with reference to rogue waves. The finding will be helpful in laser plasma interactions, microelectronics, as well as beam plasma physics and fusion technology.

Electron magnetosonic waves and sub-ion magnetic holes in the magnetotail plasma

Recent observations of hot plasma in Earth's magnetotail and magnetosheath demonstrate nonlinear sub-ion scale magnetic holes, spatially localized dips of magnetic field intensity. These structures resemble magnetosonic solitary waves, but do not include any significant density perturbations. Instead, the magnetic field depression is balanced by hot electron pressure. This study aims to investigate linear modes of hot plasma with two electron components, hot and cold, to find a mode sharing properties (propagation direction, velocity, polarization and density/temperature perturbations) of observed sub-ion scale magnetic holes. The linear analysis of three-component plasma (ions, hot and cold electrons) shows an electromagnetic mode with slow, nearly cross field propagation and absence of density perturbations. Compressional perturbations of the magnetic field in this mode are balanced by hot electron pressure perturbations. This mode resembles the electron acoustic mode with cross field propagation in hot plasma with a significant magnetic field perturbation and can be called electron magnetosonic mode. We discuss properties of this mode in comparison with spacecraft observations.

Multimode excitation and modulational instability of beam plasma system with Tsallis-distributed electrons

In the present investigation, authors have studied the linear mode structure of electron-acoustic waves, their modulational instability and rogue wave profiles in four-component plasma system consisting of stationary ions, cold electron fluid, Tsallis-distributed hot electrons and an electron beam. By applying standard perturbation method to the fluid equations, the dispersion relation is obtained that depends on various parameters such as beam density, beam velocity, beam temperature and non-extensivity q. Based on the phase velocities, two electron-acoustic (EA) modes known as slow and fast, have been extracted as real modes for which a detailed analysis is presented. Further, the basic set of equations is reduced to nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE), where the nonlinearity and dispersion coefficients compete and significantly affect the stability characteristics of EA waves. For both the modes, a comprehensive study of modulational instability and rogue wave profile has been carried out by taking into consideration the effect of non-extensivity and beam velocity. The obtained results have been compared with other research works. The present investigation may be relevant to the observation from Viking satellite in the day-side auroral zone.

Mode Coupling From Kinetic Alfvén Waves to Electron Acoustic Waves in the Topside Ionosphere

AbstractThe propagation and energy transfer of kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) in the topside ionosphere are investigated based on a drift kinetic model. We examine the dependence of the generation of electron acoustic waves (EAWs) on the perpendicular wavelength and on the hot electron temperature. With decreasing perpendicular wavelength and increasing hot electron temperature, the coupling of KAWs to EAWs becomes increasingly important. The Landau damping of the EAWs is strong except in the transition region, where the nonlinear dissipation can be important. With increasing wave amplitude, the generated electron acoustic mode waves become unsustainable when the depletion of cold electron density is comparable to the initial background cold electron density. These findings indicate that electron acoustic mode waves play an important role at kinetic scales in the topside ionosphere.

Linear and nonlinear fluctuations of electron‐temperature‐gradient driven mode and electron acoustic mode in a two‐electron temperature nonthermal magnetized plasma

AbstractNonlinear vortical structures and soliton formation are investigated for electron temperature gradient instability in a two‐electron temperature non‐Maxwellian magnetoplasma. The inhomogeneity in magnetic field is also considered. A new set of nonlinear equations, using transport equations of Braginskii”s model, are formulated to study the nonlinear structures. A modified linear dispersion relation of coupled electron temperature gradient (ETG) mode and electron acoustic wave is derived. The ETG instability is found to increase with increase in ηec value that increases with sharp density gradients. The results are applied to auroral region of earth's magnetosphere and the calculated values of the nonlinear electric field of fast solitary waves are found to be in agreement with the Viking satellite observations.

Linear analysis of electrostatic waves in the lunar wake plasma

Propagation characteristics of electrostatic electron and ion cyclotron waves, ion- and electron- acoustic waves in a four-component magnetized plasma comprising of protons, doubly charged Helium ions, beam electrons and superthermal electrons following a kappa distribution are presented. The model supports 12 plasma modes: two electron cyclotron (modes 1 and 12), two electron acoustic (modes 2 and 11), two fast ion acoustic (modes 3 and 10), two slow ion acoustic (modes 4 and 9), two proton cyclotron (modes 5 and 8) and two Helium cyclotron (modes 6 and 7). At parallel propagation, with increase in electron beam speed, mode 11 first merges with slow ion acoustic mode 4 and then with fast ion acoustic mode 3 and drives them unstable. For oblique propagation and without the electron streaming, coupling of various plasma modes occurs and it weakens with increase in the angle of propagation. Further, for oblique propagation with finite electron beam velocity, merging as well as coupling of various plasma modes are observed. Growth rates as well as wave numbers of the excited slow and fast ion acoustic modes are much smaller in magnetized plasma than in an unmagnetized one. The results are relevant to observations of electrostatic waves in the lunar wake.

Electron acoustic envelope solitons in non-Maxwellian plasmas

The NASA Van Allen Probes spacecraft has recently observed broadband electrostatic turbulence in the inner magnetosphere which has been conjectured to be produced by large amplitude electrostatic solitary waves of generally two types [D.M. Malaspina, J.R. Wygant, R.E. Ergun, G.D. Reeves, R.M. Skoug, B.A. Larsen, J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys. 120, 4246 (2015); C.S. Dillard, I.Y. Vasko, F.S. Mozer, O.V. Agapitov, J.W. Bonnell, Phys. Plasmas 25, 022905, (2018)]. The solitary waves with highly asymmetric bipolar parallel electric field have been recently shown to correspond to the electron-acoustic plasma mode (existing due to two-temperature electron population) [C.S. Dillard, I.Y. Vasko, F.S. Mozer, O.V. Agapitov, J.W. Bonnell, Phys. Plasmas 25, 022905, (2018)]. These findings along with the observations of non-Maxwellian electrons in terrestrial magnetosheath and planetary magnetospheres [W. Masood, S.J. Schwartz, M. Maksimovic, A.N. Fazakerley, Ann. Geophys. 24, 1725 (2006); W. Masood, S.J. Schwartz, J. Geophys. Res. 113, A01216 (2008); M.N.S. Qureshi, W. Nasir, W. Masood, P.H. Yoon, H.A. Shah, S.J. Schwartz, J. Geophys. Res.: Space Phys. 119, 10059 (2014); M.N.S. Qureshi, W. Nasir, R. Bruno, W. Masood, MNRAS 488, 954 (2019)] have prompted us to theoretically investigate the problem of amplitude modulation of the electron acoustic waves (EAWs) in plasmas whose ingredients are stationary ions, inertial cold electrons and warm (r,q) distributed inertialess electrons. The nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) that governs the modulational instability (MI) of the EAWs has been derived using the standard reductive perturbation technique (RPT). The presence of the warm (r,q) distributed electrons has been shown to influence the existence conditions of MI of the EAWs and both the indices have been found to cause a decrease in the growth rate of MI. A detailed comparison has also been drawn between double spectral index (r,q), kappa and Maxwellian distribution functions and the differences are highlighted. Additionally, the nondimensional parameter α=nc0/ne0 which is the equilibrium density ratio of the cold to hot electron component, has been shown to play an important role in the formation of envelope solitary excitations.

Chaos and Multistability in Electron Acoustic Waves in a Relativistically Degenerate Plasma

In this paper we started with a Quantum hydrodynamics system for a plasma containing stationary ions inertial cold electron and inertialess hot electrons that provide the restoring force, such that electron acoustic (EA) mode are generated. We obtained nonlinear KdV equation by employing reductive perturbative technique (RPT). Next we studied the dynamical properties of the electron acoustic wave (EAWs) and analyse the stability criterion.

Nonlinear frequency shift of acoustic waves in semiconductor plasmas

The evolution of nonlinear instability of an electron acoustic wave from the coupling of pair modes of slightly different frequencies in semiconductor plasmas is studied. The linear dispersive properties of pair modes, viz., pump wave and sideband wave, are analyzed on employing the quantum hydrodynamic model. The linear fields of pair modes couple through a second order convective term to unfold the nonlinear beat frequency of the electron acoustic mode. The nonlinear dispersion relation leads to the derivation of the growth rate of three-wave parametric instability. The quantum effects of semiconductor electrons are taken through the exchange-correlation potential, the Bohm potential, and statistical Fermi pressure. The growth rate is also analyzed graphically. This study seeks its applications in semiconductor devices.

Large-scale parallel electric fields and return currents in a global simulation model

A new computational model, kglobal, is being developed to explore energetic electron production via magnetic reconnection in macroscale systems. The model is based on the discovery that the production of energetic electrons during reconnection is controlled by Fermi reflection in large-scale magnetic fields and not by parallel electric fields localized in kinetic scale boundary layers. Thus, the model eliminates these boundary layers. However, although the parallel electric fields that develop around the magnetic x-line and associated separatrices are not important in producing energetic electrons, there is a large scale electric field that kickstarts the heating of low-energy electrons and drives the cold-electron return current that accompanies escaping energetic electrons in open systems. This macroscale electric field is produced by magnetic-field-aligned gradients in the electron pressure. We have upgraded kglobal to include this large-scale electric field while maintaining energy conservation. The new model is tested by exploring the dynamics of electron acoustic modes which develop as a consequence of the presence of two electron species: hot kinetic and cold fluid electrons. Remarkably, the damping of electron acoustic modes is accurately captured by kglobal. Additionally, it has been established that kglobal correctly describes the dynamics of the interaction of the parallel electric field with escaping hot electrons through benchmarking simulations with the Particle-In-Cell code p3d.

Electrostatic Steepening of Whistler Waves.

We present surprising observations by the NASA Van Allen Probes spacecraft of whistler waves with substantial electric field power at harmonics of the whistler wave fundamental frequency. The wave power at harmonics is due to a nonlinearly steepened whistler electrostatic field that becomes possible in the two-temperature electron plasma due to the whistler wave coupling to the electron-acoustic mode. The simulation and analytical estimates show that the steepening takes a few tens of milliseconds. The hydrodynamic energy cascade to higher frequencies facilitates efficient energy transfer from cyclotron resonant electrons, driving the whistler waves, to lower energy electrons.

Electrostatic waves driven by electron beam in lunar wake plasma

A linear analysis of electrostatic waves propagating parallel to the ambient field in a four component homogeneous, collisionless, magnetised plasma comprising fluid protons, fluid He++, electron beam, and suprathermal electrons following kappa distribution is presented. In the absence of electron beam streaming, numerical analysis of the dispersion relation shows six modes: two electron acoustic modes (modes 1 and 6), two fast ion acoustic modes (modes 2 and 5), and two slow ion acoustic modes (modes 3 and 4). The modes 1, 2 and 3 and modes 4, 5, and 6 have positive and negative phase speeds, respectively. With an increase in electron beam speed, the mode 6 gets affected the most and the phase speed turns positive from negative. The mode 6 thus starts to merge with modes 2 and 3 and generates the electron beam driven fast and slow ion acoustic waves unstable with a finite growth. The electron beam driven slow ion-acoustic waves occur at lower wavenumbers, whereas fast ion-acoustic waves occur at a large value of wavenumbers. The effect of various other parameters has also been studied. We have applied this analysis to the electrostatic waves observed in lunar wake during the first flyby of the ARTEMIS mission. The analysis shows that the low (high) frequency waves observed in the lunar wake could be the electron beam driven slow (fast) ion-acoustic modes.

Nonlinear Electrostatic Steepening of Whistler Waves: The Guiding Factors and Dynamics in Inhomogeneous Systems

AbstractWhistler mode chorus waves are particularly important in outer radiation belt dynamics due to their key role in controlling the acceleration and scattering of electrons over a very wide energy range. The efficiency of wave‐particle resonant interactions is defined by whistler wave properties which have been described by the approximation of plane linear waves propagating through the cold plasma of the inner magnetosphere. However, recent observations of extremely high‐amplitude whistlers suggest the importance of nonlinear wave‐particle interactions for the dynamics of the outer radiation belt. Oblique chorus waves observed in the inner magnetosphere often exhibit drastically nonsinusoidal (with significant power in the higher harmonics) waveforms of the parallel electric field, presumably due to the feedback from hot resonant electrons. We have considered the nature and properties of such nonlinear whistler waves observed by the Van Allen Probes and Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions define during Substorms in the inner magnetosphere, and we show that the significant enhancement of the wave electrostatic component can result from whistler wave coupling with the beam‐driven electrostatic mode through the resonant interaction with hot electron beams. Being modulated by a whistler wave, the electron beam generates a driven electrostatic mode significantly enhancing the parallel electric field of the initial whistler wave. We confirm this mechanism using a self‐consistent particle‐in‐cell simulation. The nonlinear electrostatic component manifests properties of the beam‐driven electron acoustic mode and can be responsible for effective electron acceleration in the inhomogeneous magnetic field.

Existence domain of electrostatic solitary waves in the lunar wake

Electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) and double layers are explored in a four-component plasma consisting of hot protons, hot heavier ions (He++), electron beam, and suprathermal electrons having κ-distribution using the Sagdeev pseudopotential method. Three modes exist: slow and fast ion-acoustic modes and electron-acoustic mode. The occurrence of ESWs and their existence domain as a function of various plasma parameters, such as the number densities of ions and electron beam, the spectral index, κ, the electron beam velocity, the temperatures of ions, and electron beam, are analyzed. It is observed that both the slow and fast ion-acoustic modes support both positive and negative potential solitons as well as their coexistence. Further, they support a “forbidden gap,” the region in which the soliton ceases to propagate. In addition, slow ion-acoustic solitons support the existence of both positive and negative potential double layers. The electron-acoustic mode is only found to support negative potential solitons for parameters relevant to the lunar wake plasma. Fast Fourier transform of a soliton electric field produces a broadband frequency spectrum. It is suggested that all three soliton types taken together can provide a good explanation for the observed electrostatic waves in the lunar wake.