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Stochastic acceleration of cometary ions by lower hybrid waves
Author(s) -
Buti B.,
Lakhina G. S.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl014i002p00107
Subject(s) - ion , physics , acceleration , solar wind , comet , particle acceleration , electric field , atomic physics , turbulence , computational physics , plasma , astrophysics , mechanics , classical mechanics , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics
The turbulence produced by lower hybrid waves, during interaction of solar wind with the cometary pick‐up ions, leads to stochastic acceleration of these ions. The resulting energies of the cometary ions, calculated on the assumption that the entire turbulent electric field is used up for accelerating particles, are much larger compared to the recently observed energies of water‐group ions in the vicinity of comets Halley as well as Giacobini‐Zinner. Accounting for the fact that only a fraction of the field would lead to acceleration and the rest to heating, lower hybrid waves seem to be a potential source for the observed energetic cometary ions.