Non-thermal particle distributions of kappa type are frequently encountered in collisionless plasmas from space. The electromagnetic emissions coming from space are believed to originate in the counterstreaming structures of plasmas, which are ubiquitous in many astrophysical systems. Here, we investigate the dispersion properties and the stability of a counterstreaming plasma system with temperature anisotropies modelled by a bi-kappa distribution function. The numerical evaluation of parallel modes shows growth rates lower than those obtained for Maxwellian plasmas, with a strong dependence on the spectral index of the particle distribution function. If all other parameters are known, measuring the instability growth time can provide a possible tool for the determination of the spectral index κ. © 2008 RAS.
CITATION STYLE
Lazar, M., Schlickeiser, R., Poedts, S., & Tautz, R. C. (2008). Counterstreaming magnetized plasmas with kappa distributions - I. Parallel wave propagation. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 390(1), 168–174. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13638.x
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.