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Suprathermal Electron Strahl Widths In The Presence Of Narrow-Band Whistler Waves In The Solar Wind

Kajdič, P; Alexandrova, O; Maksimovic, M; Lacombe, C; Fazakerley, AN; (2016) Suprathermal Electron Strahl Widths In The Presence Of Narrow-Band Whistler Waves In The Solar Wind. The Astrophysical Journal , 833 (2) , Article 172. 10.3847/1538-4357/833/2/172. Green open access

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Abstract

We perform the first statistical study of the effects of the interaction of suprathermal electrons with narrow-band whistler mode waves in the solar wind (SW). We show that this interaction does occur and that it is associated with enhanced widths of the so-called strahl component. The latter is directed along the interplanetary magnetic field away from the Sun. We do the study by comparing the strahl pitch angle widths in the SW at 1 AU in the absence of large scale discontinuities and transient structures, such as interplanetary shocks, interplanetary coronal mass ejections, stream interaction regions, etc. during times when the whistler mode waves were present and when they were absent. This is done by using the data from two Cluster instruments: Spatio Temporal Analysis of Field Fluctuations experiment (STAFF) data in the frequency range between ~0.1 and ~200 Hz were used for determining the wave properties and Plasma Electron And Current Experiment (PEACE) data sets at 12 central energies between ~57 eV (equivalent to ~10 typical electron thermal energies in the SW, E T ) and ~676 eV (~113 E T ) for pitch angle measurements. Statistical analysis shows that, during the intervals with the whistler waves, the strahl component on average exhibits pitch angle widths between 2° and 12° larger than during the intervals when these waves are not present. The largest difference is obtained for the electron central energy of ~344 eV (~57 E T ).

Type: Article
Title: Suprathermal Electron Strahl Widths In The Presence Of Narrow-Band Whistler Waves In The Solar Wind
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/833/2/172
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/833/2/172
Language: English
Additional information: © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. This publication is available at American Astronomical Society (AAS) via http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/833/2/172.
Keywords: Acceleration of particles, scattering, solar wind, turbulence, waves
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1536202
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