PIC Simulation of the Electron Whistler Heat Flux Instability in the Solar Wind

Abstract:

Electrons in the solar wind are often observed as two distinguishable components; a thermal dense core and a suprathermal halo. The relative drift and anisotropy of these two electron components determine the electron heat flux, which can excite various electromagnetic instabilities. Among these, the whistler has been found to be one of the most commonly-observed and important instabilities. The electron parameters derived from the measured solar wind are comparable to the threshold values predicted by the linear Vlasov theory of the whistler heat flux instability. The enhanced magnetic field fluctuations driven by the heat flux instability, in turn, prevent the drift speed difference between the two populations from increasing. This indicates that the electron heat flux is constrained and regulated by heat flux instabilities through the wave-particle scattering. Such electron heat flux regulation has widely been observed and in best agreement with the whistler heat flux instability. Here we present the growth of the electron heat flux instability in the solar wind condition using 1D PIC simulation with a periodic boundary condition. The two Maxwellian electron components are found to predominantly excite the whistler waves. We examine the growth rates of the whistle instability with respect to various plasma parameters such as the difference in drift speeds between the two components and temperature of the halo, to show the electron heat flux regulation by the whistler.