Characterizing Solar Wind Electron Energization Signatures Using the Field-Particle Correlation Technique

In this project we seek to characterize the field-particle correlation signature of electron Landau damping using gyrokinetic simulations of the dissipation of plasma turbulence. The field-particle correlation technique uses single point measurements of the distribution function and electromagnetic fields to reveal mechanism-specific signatures of changes in phase space energy density, making it applicable to the study of energization mechanisms in both simulated and in situ data. The signature of electron Landau damping of dispersive kinetic Alfvén waves is particularly worthy of study, as this mechanism may be a key player in the dissipation of solar wind turbulence. We create 3D-2V simulations of Alfvénic solar wind turbulence with a range of plasma beta in order to characterize how the phase space energization signature of this mechanism may vary throughout the heliosphere. Additionally, we confirm the prediction that the field-particle correlation technique should be able to recover energization signatures of electron Landau damping even from undersampled spacecraft measurements, where an instrument’s Nyquist frequency is below the frequency of the wave undergoing collisionless damping.