Ponderomotive Forces in Cosmos

Abstract

This review is devoted to ponderomotive forces and their importance for the acceleration of charged particles by electromagnetic waves in space plasmas. Ponderomotive forces constitute timeaveraged nonlinear forces acting on a media in the presence of oscillating electromagnetic fields. Ponderomotive forces represent a useful analytical tool to describe plasma acceleration. Oscillating electromagnetic fields are also related with dissipative processes, such as heating of particles. Dissipative processes are, however, left outside these discussions. The focus will be entirely on the (conservative) ponderomotive forces acting in space plasmas. The review consists of seven sections. In Section 1, we explain the rational for using the auxiliary ponderomotive forces instead of the fundamental Lorentz force for the study of particle motions in oscillating fields. In Section 2, we present the Abraham, Miller, Lundin-Hultqvist and Barlow ponderomotive forces, and the Bolotovsky-Serov ponderomotive drift. The hydrodynamic, quasihydrodynamic, and "test-particle" approaches are used for the study of ponderomotive wave-particle interaction. The problems of self-consistency and regularization are discussed in Section 3. The model of static balance of forces (Section 4) exemplifies the interplay between thermal, gravitational and ponderomotive forces, but it also introduces a set of useful definitions, dimensionless parameters, etc. We analyze the Alfvén and ion cyclotron waves in static limit with emphasis on the specific distinction between traveling and standing waves. Particular attention has been given to the impact of traveling Alfvén waves on the steady state anabatic wind that blows over the polar regions (Section 5). We demonstrate the existence of a wave-induced cold anabatic wind. We also show that, at a critical point, the ponderomotive acceleration of the wind is a factor of 3 greater than the thermal acceleration. Section 6 demonstrates various manifestations of ponderomotive forces in the Earth's magnetosphere, for instance the ionospheric plasma acceleration and outflow. The polar wind and the auroral density cavities are considered in relation to results from the Freja and Viking satellites. The high-altitude energization and escape of ions is discussed. The ponderomotive anharmonicity of standing Alfvén waves is analyzed from ground based ULF wave measurements. The complexity of the many challenging problems related with plasma processes near the magnetospheric boundaries is discussed in the light of recent Cluster observations. At the end of Section 6, we consider the application of ponderomotive forces to the diversity of phenomena on the Sun, in the interstellar environment, on newborn stars, pulsars and active galaxies. We emphasize the role of forcing of magnetized plasmas in general and ponderomotive forcing in particular, presenting some simple conceivable scenarios for massive outflow and jets from astrophysical objects.

North-south asymmetry of ultra-low-frequency oscillations of Earth’s electromagnetic field

“…The ray path theory holds that the amplitude of magnetic field oscillations is proportional to ρ 1/4 [Lundin, Guglielmi, 2006]. This gives us an approximate estimate of an increase in amplitude by an order of magnitude when passing from the cusp to Earth.…”

The First Ionization Potential Effect from the Ponderomotive Force: On the Polarization and Coronal Origin of Alfvén Waves

“…Lundin & Guglielmi (2006) give a similar treatment, but based on single particle dynamics in the external magnetic field (0, 0, B z ) and the electric field of the Alfvén wave (δE x exp iωt, 0, 0). With iωmv x = eδE x + ev y B z /c iωmv y = −ev x B z /c,…”

Ponderomotive barrier for plasma particles on the boundary of astrophysical jets

“…The well-known non-relativistic expression for the gradient ponderomotive (Miller) force in the presence of a plane monochromatic wave ∼ E(r)e iω t at frequency ω reads (Lundin R. et al, 2006) …”

“…Previously, the ponderomotive effects were usually discussed with respect to particle acceleration along jets or with respect to the bulk velocity profile formation (e.g. Lundin R. et al, 2006). This can be explained by means of the generalized Bernoulli law with a corresponding term which stands for the ponderomotive potential w pond…”