Limits for the Firehose Instability in Space Plasmas |
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Authors: | M Lazar S Poedts |
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Institution: | (1) Center for Plasma Astrophysics, K.U. Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B, 3001 Leuven, Belgium |
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Abstract: | Electromagnetic instabilities in high-β plasmas, where β is the ratio of the kinetic plasma energy to the magnetic energy, have a broad range of astrophysical applications. The presence
of temperature anisotropies T
∥
/T
⊥
>1 (where ∥ and ⊥ denote directions relative to the background magnetic field) in solar flares and the solar wind is sustained by the observations
and robust acceleration mechanisms that heat plasma particles in the parallel direction. The surplus of parallel kinetic energy
can excite either the Weibel-like instability (WI) of the ordinary mode perpendicular to the magnetic field or the firehose
instability (FHI) of the circularly polarized waves at parallel propagation. The interplay of these two instabilities is examined.
The growth rates and the thresholds provided by the kinetic Vlasov – Maxwell theory are compared. The WI is the fastest growing
one with a growth rate that is several orders of magnitude larger than that of the FHI. These instabilities are however inhibited
by the ambient magnetic field by introducing a temperature anisotropy threshold. The WI admits a larger anisotropy threshold,
so that, under this threshold, the FHI remains the principal mechanism of relaxation. The criteria provided here by describing
the interplay of the WI and FHI are relevant for the existence of these two instabilities in any space plasma system characterized
by an excess of parallel kinetic energy. |
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Keywords: | Corona Flares dynamics Solar wind Instabilities Waves plasma |
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