Macroscale particle simulation of kinetic Alfven waves.
01 January 1987
The first successful identification of the kinetic Alfven wave is made by means of a macroscale particle simulation. The dependences of both the parallel wave phase velocity and the damping increment on the perpendicular wavenumber are in excellent agreements with those predicted analytically. As a unique feature of the kinetic Alfven wave, appreciable acceleration (current drive) and heating of the electrons parallel to the ambient magnetic field are observed during the damping of the finite amplitude kinetic Alfven wave.