Generation of convective cells by kinetic Alfvén waves

Abstract

Nonlinear interaction between kinetic Alfvén waves (KAWs) and the electrostatic and magnetostatic convective cells in plasmas is considered here. It is shown that the KAWs in the kinetic regime can excite only magnetostatic convective cells, but those in the inertial regime can excite only electrostatic convective cells. Moreover, there is a preferred spatial scale for the instability-generated electrostatic cells, but not for the magnetostatic cells. The significance of the present results for space plasmas is discussed.