- Conference date: 25-30 Jun 1995
- Location: Dana Point, California (USA)
We propose circularly polarized Alfvén waves generated in coronal holes as a possible mechanism to heat and accelerate heavy ions in the fast solar wind. As the solar wind expands, the Alfvén waves encounter first the gyrofrequency of the species with the largest ( is the ion mass, the degree of ionization, and the proton mass). As a result of resonance absorption, the ions are heated and accelerated by quasilinear resonant interaction. As the ions are accelerated, they reach a velocity at which the dispersion relation changes in such a way, that the Alfvén-like branch of the dispersion relation goes over the gyrofrequency of the species with the second largest value. As the solar wind continues to expand, more and more of such channels open up, until all heavy ions are heated and accelerated.
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