Spatially Localized Particle Energization by Landau Damping in Current Sheets Produced by Strong Alfven Wave Collisions

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that Landau damping causes spatially localized particle energization in current sheets formed by strong Alfven wave collisions, using gyrokinetic simulations and field-particle correlation techniques.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed simulation-based evidence that Landau damping is responsible for localized particle energization in nonlinear Alfven wave interactions.

Findings

Landau damping dominates particle energization in current sheets.

Particle energization is spatially intermittent and linked to resonant particles.

Nonlinear evolution enables non-uniform energy transfer.

Abstract

Understanding the removal of energy from turbulent fluctuations in a magnetized plasma and the consequent energization of the constituent plasma particles is a major goal of heliophysics and astrophysics. Previous work has shown that nonlinear interactions among counterpropagating Alfven waves---or Alfven wave collisions---are the fundamental building block of astrophysical plasma turbulence and naturally generate current sheets in the strongly nonlinear limit. A nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation of a strong Alfven wave collision is used to examine the damping of the electromagnetic fluctuations and the associated energization of particles that occurs in self-consistently generated current sheets. A simple model explains the flow of energy due to the collisionless damping and the associated particle energization, as well as the subsequent thermalization of the particle energy by collisions. The net particle energization by the parallel electric field is shown to be spatially intermittent, and the nonlinear evolution is essential in enabling that spatial non-uniformity. Using the recently developed field-particle correlation technique, we show that particles resonant with the Alfven waves in the simulation dominate the energy transfer, demonstrating conclusively that Landau damping plays a key role in the spatially intermittent damping of the electromagnetic fluctuations and consequent energization of the particles in this strongly nonlinear simulation.