RESUMEN

Large-amplitude fluctuations of the solar wind magnetic field can scatter energetic ions. One of the main contributions to these fluctuations is provided by solar wind discontinuities, i.e., rapid rotations of the magnetic field. This study shows that the internal configuration of such discontinuities plays a crucial role in energetic ion scattering in pitch angles. Kinetic-scale discontinuities accomplish very fast ion pitch-angle scattering. The main mechanism of such pitch-angle scattering is the adiabatic invariant destruction due to separatrix crossings in the phase space. We demonstrate that efficiency of this scattering does not depend on the magnetic field component across the discontinuity surface, i.e., both rotational and almost tangential discontinuities scatter energetic ions with the same efficiency. We also examine how the strong scattering effect depends on the deviations of the discontinuity magnetic field from the force-free one.

RESUMEN

We study dynamics of charged particle in current sheets with magnetic fluctuations. We use the adiabatic theory to describe the nonperturbed charged particle motion and show that magnetic field fluctuations destroy the adiabatic invariant. We demonstrate that the evolution of particle adiabatic invariant's distribution is described by a diffusion equation and derive analytical estimates of the rate of adiabatic invariant's diffusion. This rate is proportional to power density of magnetic field fluctuations. We compare analytical estimates with numerical simulations. We show that adiabatic invariant diffusion results in transient particles trapping in the current sheet. For magnetic field fluctuation amplitude a few times larger than a normal magnetic field component, more than 50% of transient particles become trapped. We discuss the possible consequences of destruction of adiabaticity of the charged particle motion on the state of the current sheets.

RESUMEN

In this Letter, we demonstrate the effect of nonresonant charged-particle acceleration by an electrostatic wave propagating across the background magnetic field. We show that in the absence of resonance (i.e., when particle velocities are much smaller than the wave phase velocity) particles can be accelerated by electrostatic waves provided that the adiabaticity of particle motion is destroyed by magnetic field fluctuations. Thus, in a system with stochastic particle dynamics the electrostatic wave should be damped even in the absence of Landau resonance. The proposed mechanism is responsible for the acceleration of particles that cannot be accelerated via resonant wave-particle interactions. Simplicity of this straightforward acceleration scenario indicates a wide range of possible applications.

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The paper presents the latest results of the studies of small-scale fluctuations in a turbulent flow of solar wind (SW) using measurements with extremely high temporal resolution (up to 0.03 s) of the bright monitor of SW (BMSW) plasma spectrometer operating on astrophysical SPECTR-R spacecraft at distances up to 350,000 km from the Earth. The spectra of SW ion flux fluctuations in the range of scales between 0.03 and 100 s are systematically analysed. The difference of slopes in low- and high-frequency parts of spectra and the frequency of the break point between these two characteristic slopes was analysed for different conditions in the SW. The statistical properties of the SW ion flux fluctuations were thoroughly analysed on scales less than 10 s. A high level of intermittency is demonstrated. The extended self-similarity of SW ion flux turbulent flow is constantly observed. The approximation of non-Gaussian probability distribution function of ion flux fluctuations by the Tsallis statistics shows the non-extensive character of SW fluctuations. Statistical characteristics of ion flux fluctuations are compared with the predictions of a log-Poisson model. The log-Poisson parametrization of the structure function scaling has shown that well-defined filament-like plasma structures are, as a rule, observed in the turbulent SW flows.

RESUMEN

In this Rapid Communication we demonstrate effects of a new mechanism of adiabaticity destruction in Hamiltonian systems with a separatrix in the phase space. In contrast to the slow diffusive-like destruction typical for many systems, this new mechanism is responsible for very fast chaotization in a large phase volume. To investigate this mechanism we consider a Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom and with a separatrix in the phase plane of fast variables. The fast chaotization is due to an asymmetry of the separatrix and corresponding geometrical jumps of an adiabatic invariant. This system describes the motion of charged particles in a inhomogeneous electromagnetic field with a specific configuration. We show that geometrical jumps of the adiabatic invariant result in a very fast chaotization of particle motion.

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RESUMEN

We consider a slow-fast Hamiltonian system with two degrees of freedom. One degree of freedom corresponds to slow variables, and the other one corresponds to fast variables. A characteristic ratio of the rates of change of slow and fast variables is a small parameter κ. For every fixed value of the slow variables, in the phase portrait of the fast variables there are a saddle point and separatrices passing through it. When the slow variables change, phase points may cross the separatrices. The action variable of the fast motion is an adiabatic invariant of the full system as long as a trajectory is far from the separatrices: value of the adiabatic invariant is conserved with an accuracy of order of κ on time intervals of order of 1/κ. A passage through a narrow neighborhood of the separatrices results in a jump of the adiabatic invariant. We consider a case when the saddle point is degenerate. We derive an asymptotic formula for the jump of the adiabatic invariant which turns out to be a value of order of κ(3/4) (in the case of a non-degenarate saddle point a similar jump is known to be a value of order of κ). Accumulation of these jumps after many consecutive separatrix crossings leads to the "diffusion" of the adiabatic invariant and chaotic dynamics. We verify the analytical expression for the jump of the adiabatic invariant by numerical simulations. We discuss application of the obtained results to the description of charged particle dynamics in the Earth magnetosphere.

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RESUMEN

We present an analytical and numerical study of the surfatron acceleration of nonrelativistic charged particles by electromagnetic waves. The acceleration is caused by capture of particles into resonance with one of the waves. We investigate capture for systems with one or two waves and provide conditions under which the obtained results can be applied to systems with more than two waves. In the case of a single wave, the once captured particles never leave the resonance and their velocity grows linearly with time. However, if there are two waves in the system, the upper bound of the energy gain may exist and we find the analytical value of that bound. We discuss several generalizations including the relativistic limit, different wave amplitudes, and a wide range of the waves' wavenumbers. The obtained results are used for qualitative description of some phenomena observed in the Earth's magnetosphere.

RESUMEN

This study advocates the application of fractional dynamics to the description of anomalous acceleration processes in self-organized turbulent systems. Such processes (termed "strange" accelerations) involve both the non-Markovian fractal time acceleration events associated with a generalized stochastic Fermi mechanism, and the velocity-space Levy flights identified with nonlocal violent accelerations in turbulent media far from the (quasi)equilibrium. The "strange" acceleration processes are quantified by a fractional extension of the velocity-space transport equation with fractional time and phase space derivatives. A self-consistent nonlinear fractional kinetic equation is proposed for the stochastic fractal time accelerations near the turbulent nonequilibrium saturation state. The ensuing self-consistent energy distribution reveals a power-law superthermal tail psi(epsilon) proportional to epsilon(-eta) with slope 6 or =eta< or =7 depending on the type of acceleration process (persistent or antipersistent). The results obtained are in close agreement with observational data on the Earth's magnetotail.