Maria Elena Innocenti
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View article: Impact of nonthermal electron distributions on the triggering of the ion-ion acoustic instability near the Sun: Kinetic simulations
Impact of nonthermal electron distributions on the triggering of the ion-ion acoustic instability near the Sun: Kinetic simulations Open
Context. We previously investigated the stability threshold of the ion-ion acoustic instability (IIAI) in parameter regimes compatible with recent Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observations, in the presence of a Maxwellian electron distribution…
View article: Energetic spectra from semi-implicit particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection
Energetic spectra from semi-implicit particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic reconnection Open
Astrophysical observations suggest that magnetic reconnection in relativistic plasmas plays an important role in the acceleration of energetic particles. Modeling this accurately requires numerical schemes capable of addressing large scale…
View article: Clustering Wind data at 1 AU to contextualize magnetic reconnection in the solar wind
Clustering Wind data at 1 AU to contextualize magnetic reconnection in the solar wind Open
Context. Magnetic reconnection events are frequently observed in the solar wind. Understanding the patterns and structures within the solar wind is crucial to put observed magnetic reconnection events into context, since their occurrence r…
View article: Anisotropic heating and parallel heat flux in electron-only magnetic reconnection with intense guide fields
Anisotropic heating and parallel heat flux in electron-only magnetic reconnection with intense guide fields Open
Electron-only reconnection (E-REC) is a process recently observed in the Earth’s magnetosheath, where magnetic reconnection occurs at electron kinetic scales, and ions do not couple to the reconnection process. Electron-only reconnection i…
View article: Discovering heat flux closures using machine learning methods
Discovering heat flux closures using machine learning methods Open
In computational plasma physics kinetic models are used to simulate plasma phenomena where small scale physics is expected to be of importance. These models contain the full information of the particle velocity distribution function but ar…
View article: Particle-in-cell study of the tearing instability for relativistic pair plasmas
Particle-in-cell study of the tearing instability for relativistic pair plasmas Open
Two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations explore the collisionless tearing instability from a Harris equilibrium of a pair (electron-positron) plasma, with no guide field, for a range of parameters from non-relativistic to relati…
View article:  Whistler Waves and Electron Deficit in the Solar Wind: Insights from Particle-in-Cell Simulations  
 Whistler Waves and Electron Deficit in the Solar Wind: Insights from Particle-in-Cell Simulations   Open
In-situ observations of the solar wind reveal that the electron velocity distribution function (VDF) is composed of a quasi-Maxwellian core, which constitutes the majority of the electron population, along with two more sparse components: …
View article: PIC simulation of the competition of collisional and collisionless processes in the relaxation of the electron velocity distribution function in the young solar wind
PIC simulation of the competition of collisional and collisionless processes in the relaxation of the electron velocity distribution function in the young solar wind Open
As the solar wind expands in the inner heliosphere, the evolution and relaxation of the electron velocity distribution function (eVDF) is governed by a complex interplay of collisional and collisionless processes.This study investigates wi…
View article: Reconstructing fluid closures using supervised Machine Learning 
Reconstructing fluid closures using supervised Machine Learning  Open
The process of deriving fluid equations from the Vlasov equation for collisionless plasmas involves a fundamental challenge known as the closure problem. This problem consists of the fact that the temporal evolution of any particle moment&…
View article: The role of nonthermal electron distribution in triggering electrostatic ion-acoustic instability near the Sun
The role of nonthermal electron distribution in triggering electrostatic ion-acoustic instability near the Sun Open
Discoveries by Parker Solar Probe (PSP) highlight the significance of nonthermal distributions in triggering ion-scale instabilities (Verniero et al. 2020, 2022; An et al. 2024; Liu et al. 2024). In this study, we show how the electron non…
View article: Particle-in-cell simulations of the tearing instability for relativistic pair plasmas
Particle-in-cell simulations of the tearing instability for relativistic pair plasmas Open
Two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations explore the collisionless tearing instability developing in a Harris equilibrium configuration in a pair (electron–positron) plasma, with no guide field, for a range of parameters from non…
View article: Quasi-parallel Antisunward-propagating Whistler Waves Associated with the Electron Deficit in the Near-Sun Solar Wind: Particle-in-cell Simulation
Quasi-parallel Antisunward-propagating Whistler Waves Associated with the Electron Deficit in the Near-Sun Solar Wind: Particle-in-cell Simulation Open
In situ observations of the solar wind have shown that the electron velocity distribution function (VDF) consists of a quasi-Maxwellian core, comprising most of the electron population, and two sparser components: the halo, which are supra…
View article: Fully Kinetic Simulations of Proton-beam-driven Instabilities from Parker Solar Probe Observations
Fully Kinetic Simulations of Proton-beam-driven Instabilities from Parker Solar Probe Observations Open
The expanding solar wind plasma ubiquitously exhibits anisotropic nonthermal particle velocity distributions. Typically, proton velocity distribution functions (VDFs) show the presence of a core and a field-aligned beam. Novel observations…
View article: Particle-in-cell simulations of the tearing instability for relativistic pair plasmas
Particle-in-cell simulations of the tearing instability for relativistic pair plasmas Open
Two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations explore the collisionless tearing instability developing in a Harris equilibrium configuration in a pair (electron-positron) plasma, with no guide field, for a range of parameters from non…
View article: Clustering of Global Magnetospheric Observations
Clustering of Global Magnetospheric Observations Open
The use of supervised methods in space science have demonstrated powerful capability in classification tasks, but purely unsupervised methods have been less utilized for the classification of spacecraft observations. We use a combination o…
View article: Electrostatic Bursts Generated by the Ion–Ion Acoustic Instability with Solar Wind Plasma Parameters
Electrostatic Bursts Generated by the Ion–Ion Acoustic Instability with Solar Wind Plasma Parameters Open
This study is motivated by recent observations from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission, which have been identified as ion-acoustic waves from 15 to 25 solar radii. These observations reveal characteristic sequences of narrowband, high-fr…
View article: Electrostatic Bursts Generated by the Ion-Ion Acoustic Instability with Solar Wind Plasma Parameters
Electrostatic Bursts Generated by the Ion-Ion Acoustic Instability with Solar Wind Plasma Parameters Open
This study is motivated by recent observations from the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission, which have been identified as the ion-acoustic waves from 15 to 25 solar radii. These observations reveal characteristic sequences of narrow-band, hi…
View article: Applications of Fast Magnetic Reconnection Models to the Atmospheres of the Sun and Protoplanetary Disks
Applications of Fast Magnetic Reconnection Models to the Atmospheres of the Sun and Protoplanetary Disks Open
Partially ionized plasmas consist of charged and neutral particles whose mutual collisions modify magnetic reconnection compared with the fully ionized case. The collisions alter the rate and locations of the magnetic dissipation heating a…
View article: Anisotropic Heating and Parallel Heat Flux in Electron-only Magnetic Reconnection with Intense Guide Fields
Anisotropic Heating and Parallel Heat Flux in Electron-only Magnetic Reconnection with Intense Guide Fields Open
Electron-only reconnection is a process recently observed in the Earth's magnetosheath, where magnetic reconnection occurs at electron kinetic scales with only electrons involved. Electron-only reconnection is likely to have a significant …
View article: Applications of Fast Magnetic Reconnection Models to the Atmospheres of the Sun and Protoplanetary Disks
Applications of Fast Magnetic Reconnection Models to the Atmospheres of the Sun and Protoplanetary Disks Open
Partially-ionized plasmas consist of charged and neutral particles whose mutual collisions modify magnetic reconnection compared with the fully-ionized case. The collisions alter the rate and locations of the magnetic dissipation heating a…
View article: Fully Kinetic Simulations of Proton-Beam-Driven Instabilities from Parker Solar Probe Observations
Fully Kinetic Simulations of Proton-Beam-Driven Instabilities from Parker Solar Probe Observations Open
The expanding solar wind plasma ubiquitously exhibits anisotropic non-thermal particle velocity distributions. Typically, proton Velocity Distribution Functions (VDFs) show the presence of a core and a field-aligned beam. Novel observation…
View article: Modelling near-Sun solar wind electron distribution functions
Modelling near-Sun solar wind electron distribution functions Open
We provide a picture of the global dynamics of electrons in the inner heliosphere through the study of non-linear interactions affecting the non-thermal features of the solar wind electron velocity distribution function (VDF…
View article: Addressing the closure problem using supervised Machine Learning
Addressing the closure problem using supervised Machine Learning Open
When deriving fluid equations from the Vlasov equation for collisionless plasmas, one runs into the so-called closure problem: each equation for the temporal evolution of one particle moment (density, current, pressure, heat flux, …)…
View article: Behaviour of Kinetic Electron and Proton Instabilities in the Magnetosheath Modelled with Semi-Implicit Particle-In-Cell
Behaviour of Kinetic Electron and Proton Instabilities in the Magnetosheath Modelled with Semi-Implicit Particle-In-Cell Open
Temperature anisotropies are often encountered in space and astrophysical plasmas. A sufficiently large ratio between the electron temperatures perpendicular and parallel with respect to the magnetic field causes whistler and mirror i…
View article: Transition from slow to fast tearing instability in the kinetic regime: theory and simulations
Transition from slow to fast tearing instability in the kinetic regime: theory and simulations Open
Current sheets are ubiquitous in space and astrophysical plasmas, and may become unstable, under appropriate conditions, to the so-called tearing instability, which in turn triggers magnetic reconnection and massive magnetic to kinetic ene…
View article: Collisional effects on relativistic magnetic reconnection
Collisional effects on relativistic magnetic reconnection Open
In extreme astrophysical environments around compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes, magnetic reconnection is expected to occur in the relativistic magnetically dominated regime, where the magnetization σ >> 1. These re…
View article: Statistical mechanics of the electrons in the solar wind: stability and instability of whistler waves in the inner heliosphere
Statistical mechanics of the electrons in the solar wind: stability and instability of whistler waves in the inner heliosphere Open
The electrons in the solar wind often exhibit non-equilibrium velocity distribution functions. Observed non-equilibrium electron features in the inner heliosphere include a field-aligned beam (called "strahl"), a suprathermal halo populati…
View article: Theory and fluid simulations of ion and electron acoustic instabilities in Parker Solar Probe observations close to the Sun.
Theory and fluid simulations of ion and electron acoustic instabilities in Parker Solar Probe observations close to the Sun. Open
Multiple electron and ion beams have been observed by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) in the low solar atmosphere (Sun et al. 2021; Liu et al. 2023). In the presence of two resonant counter-steaming ion and electron populations, we expect the…
View article: The Regulation of the Solar Wind Electron Heat Flux by Wave–Particle Interactions
The Regulation of the Solar Wind Electron Heat Flux by Wave–Particle Interactions Open
The solar wind electrons carry a significant heat flux into the heliosphere. The weakly collisional state of the solar wind implicates collisionless processes as the primary factor that constrains nonthermal features of the velocity distri…
View article: Clustering of Global Magnetospheric Observations
Clustering of Global Magnetospheric Observations Open
The use of supervised methods in space science have demonstrated powerful capability in classification tasks, but unsupervised methods have been less utilized for the clustering of spacecraft observations. We use a combination of unsupervi…