Related papers: Particle acceleration in a reconnecting current sh…
Magnetic reconnection is an important driver of energetic particles in many astrophysical phenomena. Using kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, we explore the impact of three-dimensional reconnection dynamics on the efficiency of…
We propose a new way of quick and very efficient acceleration of protons and/or electrons in relativistic bulk flows. The new mechanism takes advantage of conversion of particles from the charged state (protons or electrons/positrons) into…
Various systems can be modeled as a point-like explosion of ionized debris into a magnetized, collisionless background plasma -- including astrophysical examples, active experiments in space, and laser-driven laboratory experiments. Debris…
3D kinetic-scale turbulence is studied numerically in the regime where electrons are strongly magnetized (the ratio of plasma species pressure to magnetic pressure is $\beta_e=0.1$ for electrons and $\beta_i=1$ for ions). Such a regime is…
Acceleration processes that occur in astrophysical plasmas produce cosmic rays that are observed on Earth. To study particle acceleration, fully-kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are often used as they can unveil the microphysics…
We discuss 3D simulations of relativistic collisionless shocks in electron-positron pair plasmas using the particle-in-cell (PIC) method. The shock structure is mainly controlled by the shock's magnetization ("sigma" parameter). We…
The aim of this work is to investigate and characterise particle behaviour in a 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of a reconnecting magnetic separator. We use a relativistic guiding-centre test-particle code to investigate electron and…
We use 2D and 3D hybrid (kinetic ions - fluid electrons) simulations to investigate particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification at non-relativistic astrophysical shocks. We show that diffusive shock acceleration operates for…
Turbulent flows in the solar wind, large scale current sheets, multiple current sheets, and shock waves lead to the formation of environments in which a dense network of current sheets is established and sustains "turbulent reconnection".…
One of the key questions in the study of relativistic jets is how magnetic reconnection occurs and whether it can effectively accelerate electrons in the jet. We performed 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a relativistic…
Using analytical and numerical methods (fluid and particle-in-cell simulations) we study a number of model problems involving merger of magnetic flux tubes in relativistic magnetically-dominated plasma. Mergers of current-carrying flux…
We study an acceleration of electrons and positrons in the relativistic magnetic field reconnection using a 2.5-D particle-in-cell electromagnetic relativistic code. We consider the model with two current sheets and periodic boundary…
Ultra intense lasers are a promising source of energetic ions for various applications. An interesting approach described in Ferri et al. 2019 argues from Particle-in-Cell simulations that using two laser pulses of half energy (half…
When a charged particle moves through a plasma at a speed much higher than the thermal velocity of the plasma, it is subjected to the force of the electrostatic field induced in the plasma by itself and loses its energy. This process is…
We present a data-driven reduced-order modeling of the space-charge dynamics for electromagnetic particle-in-cell (EMPIC) plasma simulations based on dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). The dynamics of the charged particles in kinetic plasma…
Particle-in-cell with Monte Carlo collisions (PIC/MCC) is a fully kinetic, particle based numerical simulation method with increasing popularity in the field of low temperature gas discharge physics. Already in its simplest form…
Magnetic reconnection is thought to be the driver for many explosive phenomena in the universe. The energy release and particle acceleration during reconnection have been proposed as a mechanism for producing high-energy emissions and…
During near-Sun crossings of the heliospheric current sheet (HCS), Parker Solar Probe (PSP) observed populations of high-energy protons and heavier ions indicating possible energization by magnetic reconnection up to 10s -- 100s keV…
The interplay between kinetic and macroscopic scales during magnetic reconnection is investigated using particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic island coalescence in the strongly-magnetized, relativistic pair plasma regime. For large…
Particle acceleration at magnetized purely perpendicular relativistic shocks in electron-ion plasmas are studied by means of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Magnetized shocks with the upstream bulk Lorentz factor $\gamma_1 \gg…