Related papers: On the linear mirror mode threshold in high-$\beta…
An asymptotic model based on a reductive perturbative expansion of the drift kinetic and the Maxwell equations is used to demonstrate that, near the instability threshold, the nonlinear dynamics of mirror modes in a magnetized plasma with…
Mirror modes in collisionless high-temperature plasmas represent macroscopic high-temperature quasi-superconductors with bouncing electrons in discrete-particle resonance with thermal ion-sound noise contributing to the ion-mode growth…
Slow dynamical changes in magnetic-field strength and invariance of the particles' magnetic moments generate ubiquitous pressure anisotropies in weakly collisional, magnetized astrophysical plasmas. This renders them unstable to fast,…
Magnetic holes have been frequently observed in the magnetosheath of Earth and it is believed that these structures are the result of nonlinear evolution of mirror instability. Mirror mode fluctuations mostly appear as magnetic holes in…
We examine the physics of the magnetic mirror mode in its final state of saturation, the thermodynamic equilibrium, to demonstrate that the mirror mode is the analogue of a superconducting effect in a classical anisotropic-pressure space…
In the first part we present a review of our results concerning the weakly nonlinear regime of the mirror instability in the framework of an asymptotic model. This model belongs to the class of gradient type systems for which the free…
With the support of hybrid-kinetic simulations and analytic theory, we describe the nonlinear behaviour of long-wavelength non-propagating (NP) modes and fast magnetosonic waves in high-$\beta$ collisionless plasmas, with particular…
Based on Grad-Shafranov-like equations, a gyrotropic plasma where the pressures in the static regime are only functions of the amplitude of the local magnetic field is shown to be amenable to a variational principle with a free energy…
Based on now historical magnetic and plasma data and available wave spectra from the AMPTE-IRM spacecraft, and on as well historical Equator-S high-cadence magnetic field observations of mirror modes in the magnetosheath near the dayside…
In a magnetized, collisionless plasma, the magnetic moment of the constituent particles is an adiabatic invariant. An increase in the magnetic-field strength in such a plasma thus leads to an increase in the thermal pressure perpendicular…
Relativistic flying mirrors in plasmas are realized as thin dense electron (or electron-ion) layers accelerated by high-intensity electromagnetic waves to velocities close to the speed of light in vacuum. The reflection of an…
Hybrid-kinetic numerical simulations of firehose and mirror instabilities in a collisionless plasma are performed in which pressure anisotropy is driven as the magnetic field is changed by a persistent linear shear $S$. For a decreasing…
The mirror mode evolving in collisionless magnetised high-temperature thermally anisotropic plasmas is shown to develop an interesting macro-state. Starting as a classical zero frequency ion fluid instability it saturates quasi-linearly at…
The nonlinear state of a high-beta collisionless plasma is investigated when an imposed linear shear amplifies or diminishes a uniform magnetic field, driving pressure anisotropies and hence firehose/mirror instabilities. The evolution of…
Mirror modes in collisionless high-temperature plasmas represent macroscopic high-temperature quasi-superconductors. We explicitly calculate the bouncing electron contribution to the ion-mode growth rate, diamagnetic surface current…
For finite systems boundaries can introduce remarkable novel features. A well known example is the Casimir effect [1, 2] that is observed in quantum electrodynamic systems. In classical systems too novel effects associated with finite…
The linear drift-tearing mode is analyzed for different regimes of the plasma-$\beta$, ion-skin-depth parameter space with an unreduced, extended-MHD model. New dispersion relations are found at moderate plasma $\beta$ and previous…
Reaching light intensities above $10^{25}$ W/cm$^{2}$ and up to the Schwinger limit ($10^{29}$ W/cm$^{2}$) would enable testing decades-old fundamental predictions of Quantum Electrodynamics. A promising yet challenging approach to achieve…
Relativistic mirrors can be realized with strongly nonlinear Langmuir waves excited by intense laser pulses in underdense plasma. On reflection from the relativistic mirror the incident light affects the mirror motion. The corresponding…
It is shown that steepening of the radial plasma pressure profile leads to a decrease in the critical value of beta, above which small-scale balloon-type perturbations in a mirror trap become unstable. This means that small-scale ballooning…