Elucidating Coronal Microkinetics through In-Situ Observations of Solar-Wind Ions

Abstract:

In-situ measurements of space plasma -- those made with instruments that directly interact with the plasma -- provide exceptionally detailed observations of microkinetic processes therein. Numerous spacecraft have made in-situ measurements of the solar wind, but none has yet ventured into the solar corona. Nevertheless, observations of the solar wind can still provide information on the solar corona since it originates from there. This presentation will review efforts to understand the microkinetics of the solar corona through the analysis of in-situ measurements of solar-wind ions. The discussion will center on how the solar wind's evolution is shaped by expansion, collisional thermalization, wave-particle interactions (including microinstabilities associated with temperature anisotropy and/or relative drift), and the dissipation of turbulence.