Related papers: Non-relativistic Collisionless Shocks in Unmagneti…
The Weibel instability from counterstreaming plasma flows is a basic process highly relevant for collisionless shock formation in astrophysics. In this Letter we investigate, via two- and three- dimensional simulations, suitable…
We review recent progress on collisionless relativistic shocks. Kinetic instability theory is briefed including its predictions and limitations. The main focus is on numerical experiments in (i) pair and (ii) electron-nucleon plasmas. The…
Magnetized collisionless shocks drive particle acceleration broadly in space and astrophysics. We perform the first large-scale particle-in-cell simulations with realistic laboratory parameters (density, temperature, and velocity) to…
We develop a comprehensive theoretical model of relativistic collisionless pair shocks mediated by the current filamentation instability. We notably characterize the noninertial frame in which this instability is of a mostly magnetic…
Astrophysical and high-energy-density laboratory plasmas often have large-amplitude, sub-Larmor-scale electromagnetic fluctuations excited by various kinetic-streaming or anisotropy-driven instabilities. The Weibel (or the filamentation)…
Laser-driven collisonless electrostatic shock formation and the subsequent ion acceleration have been studied in near critical density plasmas. Particle-in-cell simulations show that both the speed of laser-driven collisionless…
A two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation with the realistic ion-to-electron mass ratio of 1836 is carried out to investigate the electrostatic collisionless shocks in relatively high-speed (~3000 km s^-1) plasma flows…
Collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysics and in the lab. Recent numerical simulations and experiments have shown how they can arise from the encounter of two collisionless plasma shells. When the shells interpenetrate, the…
A pair of curved shocks in a collisionless plasma is examined with a two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The shocks are created by the collision of two electron-ion clouds at a speed that exceeds everywhere the threshold…
Using a three dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell code we have performed numerical experiments of plasma shells colliding at relativistic velocities. Such scenarios are found in many astrophysical objects e.g. the relativistic outflow…
The growth rate of long wavelength kinetic instabilities arising due to the interaction of a collimated beam of relativistic particles and a cold unmagnetized plasma are calculated in the ultra relativistic limit. For sufficiently…
Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are…
Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle…
The external forward shock emitting the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow is collisionless, and it is mediated by the Weibel instability which generates the magnetic field. The GRB afterglow shows that the magnetic field in the large…
Collisionless shocks in plasmas play an important role in space physics (Earth's bow shock) and astrophysics (supernova remnants, relativistic jets, gamma-ray bursts, high energy cosmic rays). While the formation of a fluid shock through…
Nonrelativistic electrostatic unmagnetized shocks are frequently observed in laboratory plasmas and they are likely to exist in astrophysical plasmas. Their maximum speed, expressed in units of the ion acoustic speed far upstream of the…
We present results from three-dimensional particle simulations of collisionless shocks with relativistic counter-streaming ion-electron plasmas. Particles are followed over many skin depths downstream of the shock. Open boundaries allow the…
We study a relativistic collisionless electron-positron shock propagating into an unmagnetized ambient medium using 2D particle-in-cell simulations of unprecedented duration and size. The shock generates intermittent magnetic structures of…
Fully kinetic two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are used to study electron acceleration at high-Mach-number nonrelativistic perpendicular shocks. SNR shocks are mediated by the Weibel instability which is excited because of an…
The linear growth rate and saturation level of magnetic fields for Weibel instabilities driven by ion temperature anisotropy, defined as $\alpha=(T_\perp/T_\parallel)-1$ where $T_\perp$ and $T_\parallel$ are ion temperatures perpendicular…