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Whistler turbulence at variable electron beta: Three‐dimensional particle‐in‐cell simulations
Author(s) -
Chang Ouliang,
Gary S. Peter,
Wang Joseph
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/jgra.50365
Subject(s) - whistler , physics , computational physics , wave vector , anisotropy , energy cascade , particle in cell , electron , turbulence , dissipation , wavelength , cascade , landau damping , wavenumber , quantum electrodynamics , condensed matter physics , optics , mechanics , quantum mechanics , chemistry , chromatography
Three‐dimensional particle‐in‐cell (PIC) simulations of whistler turbulence at three different initial values of β e are carried out on a collisionless, homogeneous, magnetized plasma model. The simulations begin with an initial ensemble of relatively long‐wavelength whistler modes and follow the temporal evolution of the fluctuations as wave‐wave interactions lead to a forward cascade into a broadband, turbulent spectrum at shorter wavelengths with a wave vector anisotropy in the sense of k ⟂ > k ∥ . Here ⟂ and ∥ denote directions perpendicular and parallel to the background magnetic field, respectively. In addition, wave‐particle interactions lead to fluctuating field dissipation and electron heating with a temperature anisotropy in the sense of T ∥ > T ⟂ . At early times, the wave‐wave cascade dominates energy transport, whereas wave‐particle Landau damping dominates at late simulation times. Larger values of β e correspond to a faster forward cascade in wave number and to a faster rate of electron heating, as well as to a less anisotropic wave vector distribution and to a less anisotropic electron velocity distribution.