Premium
Kinetic model of Janaki et al.'s bifurcated current sheet
Author(s) -
Yoon P. H.,
Janaki M. S.,
Dasgupta B.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/2013ja019617
Subject(s) - current sheet , current (fluid) , kinetic energy , isotropy , formalism (music) , physics , distribution function , classical mechanics , plasma , population , mechanics , statistical physics , thermodynamics , quantum mechanics , magnetohydrodynamics , art , musical , demography , sociology , visual arts
Space satellite observations show that current sheets in the space plasma environment are often characterized by bifurcated structures. In a recent paper a two‐fluid model of the bifurcated current sheet was constructed on the basis of the pseudo potential method. A straightforward generalization of Janaki et al.'s two‐fluid model to kinetic formalism, however, leads to an unphysical situation of negative particle velocity distribution function occurring over a certain range of velocity space. If one assumes an isotropic background plasma population, however, one can show that a rigorous, physically valid kinetic solution of the bifurcated current sheet can be obtained.