Stochastic acceleration of ions driven by Pc1 wave packets

The stochastic motion of protons and He⁺ ions driven by Pc1 wave packets is studied in the context of resonant particle heating. Resonant ion cyclotron heating typically occurs when wave powers exceed 10⁻⁴ nT²/Hz. Gyroresonance breaks the first adiabatic invariant and energizes keV ions. Cherenkov resonances with the electrostatic component of wave packets can also accelerate ions. The main effect of this interaction is to accelerate thermal protons to the local Alfven speed. The dependencies of observable quantities on the wave power and plasma parameters are determined, and estimates for the heating extent and rate of particle heating in these wave-particle interactions are shown to be in reasonable agreement with known empirical data