Title:

Plasma Micro-instabilities: Their  Role in the Corona
and Interplanetary Space




Edisher Kaghashvili
IGPP, University of California, Riverside



Abstract:

Unlike macro-instabilities, which occur at relatively
long wavelengths,
micro-instabilities are driven by a departure from
equilibrium plasma distributions. Non-equilibrium
distributions are found in regions as diverse as the
solar corona and interplanetary space, both in the
inner and outer heliosphere. The micro-instabilities
generated by non-equilibrium  distributions can lead
to plasma heating, particle scattering, and so on. The
drivers for these unstable processes are different
forms of free energy available in the system that
allow waves of a certain frequency to grow.

In this talk, we will focus on micro-instabilities
driven by the
relative drift between two ion species and show how
hybrid simulations can be used to study this process.
We address the effects of large amplitude waves on
space plasma phenomena, such as alpha particle
streaming in the solar wind, proton-proton streaming,
and the evolution of ion beams upstream of
quasi-parallel shocks, and compare the results with
observations. Future plans for more realistic modeling
of wave-particle interactions are also discussed.