Kinetic results for ions in the solar corona with wave-particle interactions and Coulomb collisions

In a companion paper, a kinetic model for ions in the solar corona has been described. The model is based on reduced velocity distribution functions ( VDFs) that depend only on one spatial coordinate s and one velocity component v(parallel to) along the background magnetic field, and includes wave-particle interactions and Coulomb collisions. In this paper, numerical solutions of the kinetic equations for various ions in a coronal funnel and a coronal hole are presented. It is found that heavy ions are heated preferentially and that sizable temperature anisotropies form, results that are in accord with Solar and Heliospheric Observatory observations. The reduced VDFs of the heavy ions are found to develop pronounced deviations from a Maxwellian, which increase with height because of the decrease of the density, and thus of the efficiency of Coulomb collisions. Calculations of the wave damping/growth rate gamma show that the VDFs can reach the limit of marginal stability over a wide range of resonance speeds, at which wave absorption ceases. The consequences for the spectral evolution of the waves in the corona are discussed. The way in which the heavy ion mass and charge influence the kinetic model results is also studied.