arXiv subjects

F. Califano

Publications and source records attributed to F. Califano.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Proton Kinetic Effects in Vlasov and Solar Wind Turbulence

Kinetic plasma processes have been investigated in the framework of solar wind turbulence, employing Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell (HVM) simulations. The dependency of proton temperature anisotropy T_{\perp}/T_{\parallel} on the parallel plasma beta β_{\parallel}, commonly observed in spacecraft data, has been recovered using an ensemble of HVM simulations. By varying plasma parameters, such as plasma beta and fluctuation level, the simulations explore distinct regions of the parameter space given by T_{\perp}/T_{\parallel} and β_{\parallel}, similar to solar wind sub-datasets. Moreover, both simulation and solar wind data suggest that temperature anisotropy is not only associated with magnetic intermittent events, but also with gradient-type structures in the flow and in the density. This connection between non-Maxwellian kinetic effects and various types of intermittency may be a key point for understanding the complex nature of plasma turbulence.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2013

Response to Comment on `Undamped electrostatic plasma waves' [Phys. Plasmas 19, 092103 (2012)]

Numerical and experimental evidence is given for the occurrence of the plateau states and concomitant corner modes proposed in \cite{valentini12}. It is argued that these states provide a better description of reality for small amplitude off-dispersion disturbances than the conventional Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal or cnoidal states such as those proposed in \cite{comment}

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2013

Low energy Langmuir cavitons: asymptotic limit of weak turbulence

Langmuir turbulence is an archetype of wave turbulence in plasma physics. By means of 1D-1V Vlasov-Poisson simulations, we show that coherent structures, called Langmuir cavitons, are generated by the long time evolution of Langmuir weak turbulence, thus illustrating the breakdown of a weak turbulence regime. These structures correspond to an equilibrium between the pressure forces and the ponderomotive force resulting from high frequency Langmuir oscillations. Langmuir cavitons are typical features of strong Langmuir turbulence expected to be generated at high energy and to saturate when Langmuir energy is of the order of the plasma thermal energy. Despite this wide-spread belief, here we observe that cavitons, emerging from weak Langmuir turbulence evolution, saturate at much lower energies. We show that these Langmuir coherent structures are characterized by a much larger length scale with respect to the Debye length. This gives evidence that "large" and "shallow" stable cavitons should be seen in space plasma observations. The transition toward strong turbulence is shown to be a consequence of an initial weak turbulent inverse cascade. Finally, the effective equation of state for ion acoustic oscillations is tested numerically from the kinetic model.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2013

Vlasov simulations of Langmuir Electrostatic Decay and consequences for Type III observations

The electrostatic decay enables energy transfer from a finite amplitude Langmuir to a backscattered daughter Langmuir wave and ion acoustic density fluctuations. This mechanism is thought to be a first step for the generation of type III solar radio emissions at twice the plasma frequency. The electrostatic decay is here investigated through Vlasov-Poisson simulations by considering Langmuir localized wave packets in the case Te = Tp. Simulation results are found to be in good agreement with recently reported observations from the STEREO mission of the electrostatic decay of beam-driven Langmuir waves during a type III burst.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

Undamped electrostatic plasma waves

Electrostatic waves in a collision-free unmagnetized plasma of electrons with fixed ions are investigated for electron equilibrium velocity distribution functions that deviate slightly from Maxwellian. Of interest are undamped waves that are the small amplitude limit of nonlinear excitations, such as electron acoustic waves (EAWs). A deviation consisting of a small plateau, a region with zero velocity derivative over a width that is a very small fraction of the electron thermal speed, is shown to give rise to new undamped modes, which here are named {\it corner modes}. The presence of the plateau turns off Landau damping and allows oscillations with phase speeds within the plateau. These undamped waves are obtained in a wide region of the $(k,ω_{_R})$ plane ($ω_{_R}$ being the real part of the wave frequency and $k$ the wavenumber), away from the well-known `thumb curve' for Langmuir waves and EAWs based on the Maxwellian. Results of nonlinear Vlasov-Poisson simulations that corroborate the existence of these modes are described. It is also shown that deviations caused by fattening the tail of the distribution shift roots off of the thumb curve toward lower $k$-values and chopping the tail shifts them toward higher $k$-values. In addition, a rule of thumb is obtained for assessing how the existence of a plateau shifts roots off of the thumb curve. Suggestions are made for interpreting experimental observations of electrostatic waves, such as recent ones in nonneutral plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2010

On the transition between the Weibel and the whistler instabilities

The transition between non resonant (Weibel-type) and resonant (whistler) instabilities is investigated numerically in plasma configurations with an ambient magnetic field of increasing amplitudes. The Vlasov-Maxwell system is solved in a configuration where the fields have three components but depend only on one coordinate and on time. The nonlinear evolution of these instabilities is shown to lead to the excitation of electromagnetic and electrostatic modes at the first few harmonics of the plasma frequency and, in the case of a large ambient magnetic field, to a long-wavelength, spatial modulation of the amplitude of the magnetic field generated by the whistler instability.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2010

Nonlinear Kinetic Development of the Weibel Instability and the generation of electrostatic coherent structures

The nonlinear evolution of the Weibel instability driven by the anisotropy of the electron distribution function in a collisionless plasma is investigated in a spatially one-dimensional configuration with a Vlasov code in a two-dimensional velocity space. It is found that the electromagnetic fields generated by this instability cause a strong deformation of the electron distribution function in phase space, corresponding to highly filamented magnetic vortices. Eventually, these deformations lead to the generation of short wavelength Langmuir modes that form highly localized electrostatic structures corresponding to jumps of the electrostatic potential.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2010

Nonlinear Kinetic Dynamics of Magnetized Weibel Instability

Kinetic numerical simulations of the evolution of the Weibel instability during the full nonlinear regime are presented. The formation of strong distortions in the electron distribution function resulting in formation of strong peaks in it and their influence on the resulting electrostatic waves are shown.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv1999

Shear layer instability in a highly diffusive stably stratified atmosphere

The linear stability of a shear layer in a highly diffusive stably stratified atmosphere has been investigated. This study completes and extends previous works by Dudis (1974) and Jones (1977). We show that: (i) an asymptotic regime is reached in the limit of large thermal diffusivity, (ii) there exists two different types of unstable modes. The slowest growing modes correspond to predominantly horizontal motions and the fast growing ones to isotropic motions, (iii) the physical interpretation of the stability properties in this asymptotic regime is simple. Applications to the dynamics of stellar radiative zone are discussed.

astro-ph↗