Solar coronal electron heating by short-wavelength dispersive shear Alfvén waves

Abstract

The electron heating of the solar coronal plasma has remained one of the most important problems in solar physics. An explanation of the electron heating rests on the identification of the energy source and appropriate physical mechanisms via which the energy can be channelled to the electrons. Our objective here is to present an estimate for the electron heating rate in the presence of finite amplitude short-wavelength (in comparison with the ion gyroradius) dispersive shear Alfven (SWDSA) waves that propagate obliquely to the ambient magnetic field direction in the solar corona. Specifically, it is demonstrated that SWDSA waves can significantly contribute to the solar coronal electron heating via collisionless heating involving SWDSA wave-electron interactions.