Kinetic Process of Plasma Heating Due to Alfvén Wave Excitation

Abstract

We elucidate the kinetic process of plasma heating by the resonant excitation of the shear Alfvén wave. The heating occurs as a result of the damping of the modified (by the finite ion Larmor radius and electron inertia) Alfvén wave which is excited by mode conversion at the resonant layer. The heating rates of ions and of electrons are comparable in the collisional regime; otherwise electrons are predominantly heated.