Evidence of energy conversion in weakly collisional plasma during an interplanetary coronal mass ejection

TL;DR

This study provides evidence of energy conversion processes involving multiple ion-scale wave modes within an interplanetary coronal mass ejection, highlighting plasma instability and wave-particle interactions that lead to electron heating.

Contribution

It characterizes the coexistence of Alfvén ion-cyclotron and fast magnetosonic/whistler waves during an ICME, revealing energy conversion mechanisms in weakly collisional plasma.

Findings

Identification of ion-cyclotron and whistler wave signatures

Evidence of plasma resonance conditions supporting multiple wave modes

Enhanced electron heating associated with wave activity

Abstract

Intervals of enhanced turbulent fluctuations are typically less frequent within the magnetic cloud region of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME). We investigate two such intervals inside an ICME observed by the \textit{Wind} spacecraft on 8--9 June 2000 and characterize their associated wave populations. We focus on spectral analysis and plasma instability analysis, using ion-scale normalized magnetic helicity and polarization properties with respect to the background magnetic field $B_0$. In the first interval, the ion-scale normalized magnetic helicity shows a left-handed circularly polarized signature. In the second interval, the left-handed signature persists and an additional high-frequency right-handed population appears. The propagation is approximately parallel to $B_0$. The left-handed fluctuations are compatible with Alfv\'en ion-cyclotron (AIC) waves, while the right-handed fluctuations are consistent with fast magnetosonic/whistler (FM/W) waves. The ICME plasma accesses resonance conditions that support multiple ion-scale wave modes. Evolving anisotropies in the plasma and the approach to marginal stability allow the coexistence of AIC-like and fast-magnetosonic/whistler-like fluctuations, with enhanced electron heating favoring the growth of the FM/W contribution and strengthening the density--magnetic-field magnitude correlation.