Collisionless Heating of the Solar-Wind Plasma. I. Theory of the Heating of Collisionless Plasma by Hydromagnetic Waves

Abstract

In this, the first of a series of papers examining the role of collisionless heating in the solar wind, the general theory of heating of collisionless plasma by hydromagnetic waves is derived It is shown that damping of fast-mode hydromagnetic waves can heat both protons and electrons, enhancing the "com-ponent" of kinetic (ion or electron) temperature parallel to the mean magnetic field, but not affecting the transverse temperatures A numerical calculation of the heating associated with fast-mode waves as a function of propagation direction is given, and a qualitative summary of the ways in which the heating depends on plasma conditions is presented.