Acceleration of dust particles by low-frequency Alfv\'en waves

TL;DR

This paper studies how low-frequency Alfvén waves can accelerate charged dust particles in space, showing that the acceleration depends on wave amplitude and can significantly increase dust particle velocities.

Contribution

It provides a nonlinear analysis of dust acceleration by Alfvén waves, quantifying the velocity increase and the dependence on wave amplitude.

Findings

Longitudinal acceleration proportional to wave amplitude squared

Transversal acceleration proportional to wave amplitude

Dust velocities can reach 0.3 to 1 km/s in interstellar medium

Abstract

We investigate the efficiency of acceleration of charged dust particles by low-frequency Alfv\'en waves in nonlinear approximation. We show that the longitudinal acceleration of dust particles is proportional to the square of the soliton amplitude $O(|b_m|^2)$, while the transversal acceleration is of $O(|b_m|)$. In the conditions of the interstellar medium the resulting velocity of dust particles can reach 0.3 to 1 km s$^{-1}$.