Alfv\'en Wave Driven High Frequency Waves in the Solar Atmosphere: Implications for Ion Heating

Abstract

This work is an extension of Kaghashvili [1999] where ion-cyclotron wave dissipation channel for Alfv\'en waves was discussed. While our earlier study dealt with the mode coupling in the commonly discussed sense, here we study changes in the initial waveform due to interaction of the initial driver Alfv\'en wave and the plasma inhomogeneity, which are implicitly present in the equations, but were not elaborated in Kaghashvili [1999]. Using a cold plasma approximation, we show how high frequency waves (higher than the initial driver Alfv\'en wave frequency) are generated in the inhomogeneous solar plasma flow. The generation of the high frequency forward and backward propagating modified fast magnetosonic/whistler waves as well as the generation of the driven Alfv\'en waves is discussed in the solar atmosphere. The generated high frequency waves have a shorter dissipation timescale, and they can also resonant interact with particles using both the normal cyclotron and anomalous cyclotron interaction channels. These waves can also be important in space, Earths magnetosphere, the ionosphere, and laboratory plasma processes.