Analytical Model of a Magnetopause in a Multicomponent Collisionless Plasma with a Kappa Energy Distribution of Particles

Abstract

We propose an analytical model for a distributed current sheet with a variable profile that separates two regions of anisotropic collisionless plasma with different magnetic fields and different effective temperatures of the kappa energy distributions of electrons and ions. The model also admits the presence of several ion components with different effective temperatures and spatially separated localized countercurrents of each of these components. We demonstrate the change in the characteristics of the current sheet when going from a Maxwellian to a kappa distribution, which takes into account the presence of a power-law spectrum of energetic particles typical of a nonequilibrium magnetoactive plasma. The theory developed allows us to carry out for the first time analytical modeling of such current configurations in both laboratory and cosmic plasmas, e.g., in planetary magnetopauses, coronal loops, and stellar wind with magnetic clouds.