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Dispersion relation for electrostatic waves in plasmas with isotropic and anisotropic Kappa distributions for electrons and ions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2017

L. F. Ziebell*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 91501-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
R. Gaelzer
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 91501-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
F. J. R. Simões Jr
Affiliation:
Instituto de Física e Matemática, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, 96010-900, Pelotas, RS, Brazil
*
†Email address for correspondence: luiz.ziebell@ufrgs.br
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Abstract

Velocity distribution functions which feature extended tails with power-law dependence have been consistently observed in the solar wind environment and are frequently modelled by the so-called Kappa distributions. Different forms of Kappa distributions are commonly employed in analytical studies, and despite their similarities, they can produce different effects on the dispersion properties that occur in a plasma. We consider two different and widely used forms of Kappa distributions, in both isotropic and anisotropic cases, and systematically discuss their effects on the dispersion relations of Langmuir and ion-sound waves. It is shown that in the case of Langmuir waves, one of the forms leads to the expression for the Bohm–Gross dispersion relation, valid for plasmas with Maxwellian velocity distributions, while the other form of Kappa functions leads to a dispersion relation with significant difference regarding the Maxwellian case, particularly in the case of small values of the kappa index. For ion-sound waves, the dispersion relations obtained with the different forms of Kappa distributions are different among themselves, and also different from the Maxwellian case, with difference which increases for small values of the kappa index. Some results obtained from numerical solution of the dispersion relations are presented, which illustrate the magnitude of the perceived differences. Some results obtained with relativistic particle-in-cell simulations are also presented, which allow the comparison between the dispersion relations obtained from analytical calculations and the frequency–wavelength distribution of wave fluctuations which are observed in numerical experiments.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2017 
Figure 0

Figure 1. Normalized values of isotropic Kappa distributions, versus normalized velocity, for $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}=3$ and $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}=10$. Black lines are obtained using (3.1) (type I), and red lines are obtained using (3.12) (type II). The dashed line represents a Maxwellian distribution.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Real and imaginary parts of the wave frequency versus normalized parallel wavenumber, for Langmuir waves, for different values of the index $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$. The results have been obtained by numerical solution of (3.3), considering electrons and ions described by isotropic Kappa distribution functions of type I, given by (3.1). The figure also shows results obtained with the Bohm–Gross form of the dispersion relation, which is (3.7).

Figure 2

Figure 3. Real and imaginary parts of the wave frequency versus normalized parallel wavenumber, for Langmuir waves, for different values of the index $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$. The results have been obtained by numerical solution of (3.14), considering electrons and ions described by isotropic Kappa distribution functions of type II, given by (3.12).

Figure 3

Figure 4. Real part of the wave frequency versus normalized parallel wavenumber, for Langmuir waves, for different values of the index $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$, in the case of electrons and ions described by isotropic Kappa distribution functions of type II, given by (3.12). For each value of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$, the continuous line shows the values obtained by numerical solution of (3.14), and the dashed line shows the values obtained using the approximated dispersion relation given by (3.15). The figure also shows results obtained with the Kappa–Bohm–Gross form of the dispersion relation for distributions of type II, which is (3.16).

Figure 4

Figure 5. Real and imaginary parts of the wave frequency versus normalized parallel wavenumber, for ion-sound waves, for different values of the index $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$. The results have been obtained by numerical solution of equation (3.3), considering electrons and ions described by isotropic Kappa distribution functions of type I, given by (3.1).

Figure 5

Figure 6. Real and imaginary parts of the wave frequency versus normalized parallel wavenumber, for ion-sound waves, for different values of the index $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$. The results have been obtained by numerical solution of equation (3.14), considering electrons and ions described by isotropic Kappa distribution functions of type II, given by (3.12).

Figure 6

Figure 7. Real part of the wave frequency versus normalized parallel wavenumber, for ion-sound waves, for different values of the index $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$, in the case of electrons and ions described by isotropic Kappa distribution functions of type I, given by (3.1). For each value of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$, the continuous line shows the values obtained by numerical solution of equation (3.3), and the dot-dashed line shows the values obtained using the approximated dispersion relation given by (3.8).

Figure 7

Figure 8. Real part of the wave frequency versus normalized parallel wavenumber, for ion-sound waves, for different values of the index $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$, in the case of electrons and ions described by isotropic Kappa distribution functions of type II, given by (3.12). For each value of $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}$, the continuous line shows the values obtained by numerical solution of equation (3.14), and the dot-dashed line shows the values obtained using the approximated dispersion relation given by (3.17).

Figure 8

Figure 9. $\unicode[STIX]{x1D714}$–$k$ diagram obtained from the time and space evolution of the $x$ (longitudinal) component of the electric field, $E_{x}$, in a PIC simulation code. (a,c,e) Results obtained with isotropic Kappa distribution of type I; (b,d,f) results obtained with isotropic Kappa distribution of type II. The theoretical dispersion relation for L waves in the case of isotropic Maxwellian distribution is shown by a dotted line. The dispersion relation obtained for isotropic Kappa distribution of type II is shown at the right-hand side by a continuous line. In the case of type I isotropic Kappa distributions, the dispersion relation for L waves coincides with that of a Maxwellian plasma, so that the panels (a,c,e) only feature the dotted line. (a,b) $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}=3$; (c,d) $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}=5$; (e,f) $\unicode[STIX]{x1D705}=20$.