Characteristics of heat flux and electromagnetic electron-cyclotron instabilities driven by solar wind electrons

In situ observations reveal the existence of electron velocity distribution function in the solar wind, where the net distribution can be modelled by a combination of core, halo and strahl. These components often possess a relative drift and with respective temperature anisotropies. The relative drift between the core and halo components leads to heat flux (HF) instability, while temperature anisotropies drive electromagnetic electron-cyclotron (EMEC) instability. These instabilities have been separately studied in the literature, but for the first time, the present study combines both unstable modes in the presence of two free energy sources, namely, excessive parallel pressure and excessive perpendicular temperature. HF instability (which is a left-hand circularly polarized mode) is effectively similar to electron firehose instability, except that the free energy is provided by net relative drift among two component electrons in the background of protons. The HF instability is discussed here along with (the right-hand polarized) EMEC instability driven by temperature anisotropy. The unstable HF mode is conventionally termed the `whistler' HF instability, but it is actually polarized in the opposite sense to the whistler wave. EMEC mode, on the other hand, reduces to the proper whistler wave in the absence of free energy source. The present combined analysis clarifies the polarization characteristics of these two modes in an unambiguous manner.