There exists large-scale lightning in Saturn's water cloud. Based on the powerful moist convection in the water cloud, we establish a thermal-induced convective model to interpret the mechanism for the processes of charge generation and separation. We also estimate the breakdown field of Saturn's atmosphere quantitatively and interpret the discharge process.
The process of ion heating by a monochromatic obliquely propagating low-frequency Alfven wave is investigated. This process can be roughly divided into three stages: at first,the ions are picked up by the Alfven wave in several gyro-periods and a bulk velocity in the transverse direction is achieved; then, the ions are scattered in the transverse direction by the wave, which produces phase differences between the ions and leads to ion heating, especially in the perpendicular direction; and finally, the ions are stochastically heated due to the subcyclotron resonance. In this paper, with a test particle method, the efficiency and time scale of the ion stochastic heating by a monochromatic obliquely propagating low-frequency Alfven wave are studied. The results show that with the increase of the amplitude, frequency, and propagation angle of the Alfven wave, the efficiency of the ion stochastic heating increases, while the time scale of the ion stochastic heating decreases. With the increase of the plasma beta β, the ions are stochastically heated with less efficiency, and the time scale increases. We also investigate the heating of heavy ion species(He2+and O5+), which can be heated with a higher efficiency by the oblique Alfven wave.
With the measurements of magnetic field of Venus Express (VEX), magnetic coplanarity and minimum variance analysis (MVA) methods are analyzed and their validity is tested to determine the normal of Venusian bow shocks. It is found that MVA method is the better than magnetic coplanarity, and 95% shock crossings can be accurately determined by the method. However, the occurrence of the shock normal which is not determined accurately by magnetic coplanarity increases with the decrease of the solar zenith angle (SZA). At the same time, compared with quasi-parallel shocks, there is more occurrence of the shock normal which cannot be determined accurately by magnetic coplanarity for quasi-perpendicular shocks.
Previous electrostatic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations have pointed out that electron phase-space holes (electron holes) can be formed during the nonlinear evolution of the electron two-stream instability. The parallel cuts of the parallel and perpendicular electric field have bipolar and unipolar structures in these electron holes, respectively. In this study, two-dimensional (2D) electromagnetic PIC simulations are performed in the x y plane to investigate the evolution of the electron two-stream instability, with the emphasis on the magnetic structures associated with these electron holes in different plasma conditions. In the simulations, the background magnetic field (Bo= Boex ) is along the x direction. In weakly magnetized plasma (Ωe < ωpe , whereΩe and ωpe are the electron gyrofrequency and electron plasma frequency, respectively), several 2D electron holes are formed. In these 2D electron holes, the parallel cut of the fluctuating magnetic field δBx and δBz has unipolar structures, while the fluctuating magnetic field δB y has bipolar structures. In strongly magnetized plasma (Ωe > ωpe ), several quasi-1D electron holes are formed. The electrostatic whistler waves with streaked structures of E y are excited. The fluctuating magnetic field δB x and δBz also have streaked structures. The fluctuating magnetic field δBx and δB y are produced by the current in the z direction due to the electric field drift of the trapped electrons, while the fluctuating magnetic field δBz can be explained by the Lorentz transformation of a moving quasielectrostatic structure. The influences of the initial temperature anisotropy on the magnetic structures of the electron holes are also analyzed. The electromagnetic whistler waves are found to be excited in weakly magnetized plasma. However, they do not have any significant effects on the electrostatic structures of the electron holes.
The evolution of two-dimensional（2D） electron phase-space holes（electron holes） has been previously investigated with electrostatic Particle-in-Cell（PIC） simulations,which neglect ion dynamics.The electron holes are found to be unstable to the transverse instability,and their evolution is determined by the combined action between the transverse instability and the stabilization by the background magnetic field.In this paper,the effect of ion dynamics on the evolution of an electron hole is studied.In weakly magnetized plasma(Ωe<ωpe,whereΩe andωpe are electron gyrofrequency and plasma frequency,respectively),the electron hole is still unstable to the transverse instability. However,it evolves a little faster and is destroyed in a shorter time when ion dynamics is considered. In strongly magnetized plasma(Ωe>ωpe),the electron hole is broken due to the lower hybrid waves, and its evolution is much faster.
