Related papers: Particle acceleration in the driven relativistic r…
Particle acceleration in relativistic shocks of electron-positron plasmas with proton admixture is investigated through two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The upstream plasma, with a bulk Lorentz factor of $10$ and a…
Two-dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of radiative magnetic reconnection in pair plasmas with multiple interacting current sheets are carried out to mimic the dynamics in high-energy astrophysical environments,…
This review discusses the physics of magnetic reconnection, a process in which the magnetic field topology changes and magnetic energy is converted to kinetic energy, in pair plasmas in the relativistic regime. We focus on recent progress…
By means of two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate the process of driven magnetic reconnection at the termination shock of relativistic striped flows. In pulsar winds and in magnetar-powered relativistic…
Magnetic reconnection is a primary driver of particle acceleration processes in space and astrophysical plasmas. Understanding how particles are accelerated and the resulting particle energy spectra is among the central topics in…
Using fully kinetic simulations, we demonstrate that magnetic reconnection in relativistic plasmas is highly efficient at accelerating particles through a first-order Fermi process resulting from the curvature drift of particles in the…
Magnetic reconnection is a leading mechanism for magnetic energy conversion and high-energy non-thermal particle production in a variety of high-energy astrophysical objects, including ones with relativistic ion-electron plasmas (e.g.,…
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process that is thought to play a key role in the production of nonthermal particles associated with explosive phenomena in space physics and astrophysics. Experiments at high-energy-density…
We study linear and nonlinear development of relativistic and ultrarelativistic current sheets of pair plasmas with antiparallel magnetic fields. Two types of two-dimensional problems are investigated by particle-in-cell simulations. First,…
A rotating pulsar creates a surrounding pulsar wind nebula (PWN) by steadily releasing an energetic wind into the interior of the expanding shockwave of supernova remnant or interstellar medium. At the termination shock of a PWN, the…
We present a new algorithm for the identification and physical characterization of current sheets and reconnection sites in 2D and 3D large scale relativisticmagnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations. This has been implemented in the PLUTO…
By means of fully kinetic simulations, we investigate electron acceleration during magnetic reconnection in a nonrelativistic proton--electron plasma with conditions similar to solar corona and flares. We demonstrate that reconnection leads…
Magnetic reconnection is a process whereby magnetic field lines in different directions "reconnect" with each other, resulting in the rearrangement of magnetic field topology together with the conversion of magnetic field energy into the…
We present the results of 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations that explore relativistic magnetic reconnection in pair plasma with strong synchrotron cooling and a small mass fraction of non-radiating ions. Our results demonstrate that the…
We present large scale 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to examine particle energization in magnetic reconnection of relativistic electron-positron (pair) plasmas. The initial configuration is set up as a relativistic Harris…
Magnetic reconnection -- a fundamental plasma physics process, where magnetic field lines of opposite polarity annihilate -- is invoked in astrophysical plasmas as a powerful mechanism of nonthermal particle acceleration, able to explain…
Magnetic reconnection is invoked as one of the primary mechanisms to produce energetic particles. We employ large-scale three-dimensional (3D) particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection in magnetically-dominated ($\sigma=10$) pair plasmas…
We investigate the distribution of particle acceleration sites, independently of the actual acceleration mechanism, during plasmoid-dominated, relativistic collisionless magnetic reconnection by analyzing the results of a particle-in-cell…
The debate surrounding fast magnetic energy dissipation by magnetic reconnection has remained a fundamental topic in the plasma universe, not only in the Earth's magnetosphere but in astrophysical objects such as pulsar magnetospheres and…
We conduct a multiparametric study of driven magnetic reconnection relevant to recent experiments on colliding magnetized laser produced plasmas using particle-in-cell simulations. Varying the background plasma density, plasma resistivity,…