Kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence in space plasmas

This work presents the derivation of nonlinear coupled equations for the evolution of solar wind turbulence. These equations are governing the coupled dynamics of kinetic Alfvén wave and ion acoustic wave. Numerical simulation of these equations is also presented. The ponderomotive nonlinearity is incorporated in the wave dynamics. Filamentation of kinetic Alfvén wave and the turbulent spectra are presented in intermediate-β   plasmas at heliocentric distances (0.3 AU⩽r<1.0 AU0.3 AU⩽r<1.0 AU). The growing filaments and steeper turbulent spectra (of power law k−Sk−S, 5/3⩽S⩽35/3⩽S⩽3) can be responsible for plasma heating and particle acceleration in solar wind.