Nonturbulent stabilization of ion fluxes by the fan instability

Resonant interactions between energetic ion fluxes and wave packets they excite through fan instability are studied using self-consistent 3D simulations to explain the nonlinear wave–particle mechanisms at work and to estimate the energy lost by the flux and its sharing between wave emission and particle heating. The saturation of waves and the relaxation of particles are studied over long time periods. The ions are not only diffusing in the waves but are also trapped simultaneously by several potential wells of large amplitude overlapping waves. Estimates of the ion heating energy and rate are given and compared with space observations.