1966/12/01 by C. F. Kennel, F. Engelmann · 1,032 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Classical mechanics #Computational physics #Diffusion #Distribution function #Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics #Magnetic field #Mechanics #Optics #Oscillation (cell signaling) #Phase space #Phase velocity #Physics #Pitch angle #Plasma #Quantum mechanics #Scattering #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Turbulence
paper · doi:10.1063/1.1761629
published in The Physics of Fluids 9(12), 2377-2388 (AIP Publishing)
openalex publication_date 1966/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The quasi-linear velocity space diffusion is considered for waves of any oscillation branch propagating at an arbitrary angle to a uniform magnetic field in a spatially uniform plasma. The space-averaged distribution function is assumed to change slowly compared to a gyroperiod and characteristic times of the wave motion. Nonlinear mode coupling is neglected. An H-like theorem shows that both resonant and nonresonant quasi-linear diffusion force the particle distributions towards marginal stablity. Creation of the marginally stable state in the presence of a sufficiently broad wave spectrum in general involves diffusing particles to infinite energies, and so the marginally stable plateau is not accessible physically, except in special cases. Resonant particles with velocities much larger than typical phase velocities in the excited spectrum are scattered primarily in pitch angle about the magnetic field. Only particles with velocities the order of the wave phase velocities or less are scattered in energy at a rate comparable with their pitch angle scattering rate.