SH049-0013
Parker Solar Probe Observations of Ion Velocity-Space Diffusion Associated with Ion-Scale Right-Hand Polarized Waves

Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Poster
J. L. Verniero1, Benjamin D G Chandran2, Davin E Larson3, Ali Rahmati1, Michael McManus1, Roberto Livi4, Phyllis L Whittlesey4, Kristopher G. Klein5, Justin Christophe Kasper6, Ben Alterman7, Trevor A Bowen8, John W Bonnell9 and SWEAP/FIELDS Team, (1)University of California Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States, (2)University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States, (3)Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States, (4)Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States, (5)University of Arizona, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tucson, AZ, United States, (6)University of Michigan, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, (7)Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, United States, (8)University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States, (9)University of California, Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
Abstract:
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) continues to shed light on the fundamental nature of the inner heliosphere with each orbit around the Sun. Characterizing the energy transfer between electromagnetic fields and particles improves our understanding of the complex dynamics that govern our universe. Particle velocity distribution functions (VDFs) that possess sufficient asymmetries may supply a source of free energy for plasma wave generation. We present SPAN-I measured VDFs from Encounter 4 with beams that exhibit unique ‘hammerhead’ shapes that are seen simultaneously with ion-scale right-hand polarized waves observed from FIELDS. We provide a plausible explanation for these ‘hammerhead’ features as a signature of ion velocity-space diffusion resulting from resonant interactions with parallel-propagating fast-magnetosonic/whistler waves.
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