Related papers: On electromagnetic instabilities at ultra-relativi…
Relativistic shocks are usually thought to occur in violent astrophysical explosions. These collisionless shocks are mediated by a plasma kinetic streaming instability, often loosely referred to as the Weibel instability, which generates…
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 a 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…
A case of two interpenetrating, cold and quasi-neutral ion-electron plasmas is investigated with the multi-fluid approach. We consider that one plasma flows quasi-parallel to the lines of a background magnetic field embedded in another…
Beam instabilities in the strongly magnetized electron-positron plasma of pulsar magnetospheres are considered. We analyze the resonance conditions and estimate the growth rates of the Cherenkov and cyclotron instabilities of the ordinary…
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…
The maximum magnetic field strength generated by Weibel-type plasma instabilities is estimated for typical conditions in the interstellar medium. The relevant kinetic dispersion relations are evaluated by conducting a parameter study both…
An investigation of magnetic fields generated in an expanding bubble of plasma with misaligned temperature and density gradients (driving the Biermann battery mechanism) is performed. With gradient scales $L$, large-scale magnetic fields…
Magnetic field amplification by relativistic streaming plasma instabilities is central to a wide variety of high-energy astrophysical environments as well as to laboratory scenarios associated with intense lasers and electron beams. We…
Relativistic radiation mediated shocks (RRMS) likely form in prodigious cosmic explosions. The structure and emission of such shocks is regulated by copious production of electron-positron pairs inside the shock transition layer. It has…
We present a scenario that could explain non-thermal particle acceleration in relativistic quasi-perpendicular electron-positron shocks, such as the termination shock of pulsar wind nebulae. The shock produces a strong electromagnetic…
Plasma instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) excited in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a new 3-D relativistic particle-in-cell code, we…
Relativistic collisionless shocks are believed to be efficient particle accelerators. Nonlinear outcome of the interaction of accelerated particles that run ahead of the shock, the so-called "precursor", with the unperturbed plasma of the…
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)…
For a Weibel shock to form, two plasma shells have to collide and trigger the Weibel instability. At saturation, this instability generates in the overlapping region magnetic filaments with peak field $B_f$. In the absence of an external…
A sufficient condition for maser instability in a weakly magnetized relativistic plasma with an isotropic particle distribution function is given. The maser growth rates and polarizations are computed starting from the exact dielectric…
We have investigated particle acceleration and emission from shocks and shear flows associated with an unmagnetized relativistic jet plasma propagating into an unmagnetized ambient plasma. Strong electro-magnetic fields are generated in the…
Plasma outflows from gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and relativistic jets, in general, interact with the surrounding medium through collisionless shocks. The microphysics of such shocks are still poorly understood, which, potentially, can…
Collisionless shocks are known to induce turbulence via upstream ion reflection within the precursor region. This study elucidates the properties of electrostatic and electromagnetic instabilities, exploring their role over the…
Shock acceleration is a 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…