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Using Kappa Distributions to Identify the Potential Energy
Author(s) -
Livadiotis G.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/2017ja024978
Subject(s) - polytropic process , kappa , physics , solar wind , proton , constant (computer programming) , potential energy , computational physics , statistical physics , plasma , atomic physics , classical mechanics , quantum mechanics , mathematics , computer science , geometry , programming language
This paper reports on the properties of kappa distributions in the presence of a potential energy. The constructed phase space kappa distribution leads to a polytropic relationship between the local density and temperature. The kappa and polytropic indices are connected via a characteristic and universal relationship: their sum is a constant depending specifically on the potential features. Determining this constant comprises a method essential for revealing the functional form and understanding the nature of the particle potential energy. The method is applied to the solar wind proton plasma at 1 AU. It is shown that a satisfactory physical interpretation of the potential affecting solar wind protons can be given by the interplanetary radial electric field.