Issue |
A&A
Volume 645, January 2021
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A147 | |
Number of page(s) | 14 | |
Section | Astrophysical processes | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202039656 | |
Published online | 27 January 2021 |
Exact hybrid-kinetic equilibria for magnetized plasmas with shearing flows
1
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, ponte P. Bucci, cubo 31C, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy
e-mail: adriana.settino@unical.it
2
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Box 537, 751 21 Uppsala, Sweden
Received:
12
October
2020
Accepted:
20
November
2020
Context. Magnetized plasmas characterized by shearing flows are present in many natural contexts, such as the Earth’s magnetopause and the solar wind. The collisionless nature of involved plasmas requires a kinetic description. When the width of the shear layer is on the order of ion scales, the hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell approach can be adopted for this purpose.
Aims. The aim of this work is to derive explicit forms for stationary configurations of magnetized plasmas with planar shearing flows within the hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell description. Two configurations are considered: the first with a uniform magnetic field obliquely directed with respect to the bulk velocity and the second with a uniform-magnitude variable-direction magnetic field.
Methods. We obtained stationary ion distribution functions by combining single-particle constant of motions, which are derived through the study of particle dynamics. Preliminary information about the form of the distribution functions were analytically derived in considering a local approximation for the background electromagnetic field. Then a numerical method was set up to obtain a solution for general profiles.
Results. We determined explicit distribution functions that allow us to obtain profiles of density, bulk velocity, temperature, and heat flux. Anisotropy and agyrotropy in the distribution function were also evaluated. The stationarity of the solution during numerical simulations was checked in the uniform oblique magnetic field case.
Conclusions. The configurations considered here can be used as models for the Earth’s magnetopause in simulations of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.
Key words: plasmas / magnetic fields / turbulence / instabilities / waves / interplanetary medium
© ESO 2021
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