Longitudinal wave instability due to rotating beam-plasma interaction in weakly turbulent astrophysical plasmas

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to highlight the temporal evolution of the longitudinal wave instability due to the interaction between a rotating electron beam and the magnetoactive plasma region in space plasma structures. The plasma structure which could be either in the solar atmosphere or any active plasma region in space is considered weakly turbulent, where the quasi-linear theory is implemented to enable analytic insight on the wave–particle interaction in the course of the event. It is found that in a weakly turbulent plasma, quasi-linear saturation of the longitudinal wave is accompanied by a significant alteration in the distribution function in the resonant region. In case of a pure electrostatic wave, the wave amplitude experiences elevation due to the energy transfer from the plasma particles. This causes flattening of the bump on tail (BOT) in the electron distribution function. If the gradient of the distribution function is positive, the chance that the beam would excite the wave is probable. In such a situation a plateau on the distribution function (∂f/∂v ≈ 0) is formed that will stop the diffusion of beam particles in the velocity space. Evolution of the electron distribution function experiences a decreases of the instability of the longitudinal wave. It is deduced that the growth rate of the wave instability is inversely proportional to the wave energy. Regarding the Sun, in addition to creating micro-turbulence due to wave–particle interaction, as the wave elevates to higher altitudes it enters a saturated energy state before releasing energy that may be a candidate for the generation of radio bursts.