Evidence for electron Landau damping in space plasma turbulence

How turbulent energy is dissipated in weakly collisional space and astrophysical plasmas is a major open question. Here, we present the application of a field-particle correlation technique to directly measure the transfer of energy between the turbulent electromagnetic field and electrons in the Earth's magnetosheath, the region of solar wind downstream of the Earth's bow shock. The measurement of the secular energy transfer from the parallel electric field as a function of electron velocity shows a signature consistent with Landau damping. This signature is coherent over time, close to the predicted resonant velocity, similar to that seen in kinetic Alfven turbulence simulations, and disappears under phase randomisation. This suggests that electron Landau damping could play a significant role in turbulent plasma heating, and that the technique is a valuable tool for determining the particle energisation processes operating in space and astrophysical plasmas.STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship [ST/N003748/2]; NASA HSR grant [NNX16AM23G]; NSF CAREER Award [AGS-1054061]; NASA HGI grant [80NSSC18K0643]; NASA MMS GI grant [80NSSC18K1371]Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]