Related papers: Kappa distributions: theory and applications in sp…
In a classical plasma the momentum distribution, $n(k)$, decays exponentially, for large $k$, and the same is observed for an ideal Fermi gas. However, when quantum and correlation effects are relevant simultaneously, an algebraic decay,…
In this paper we have criticized the so-called Landau damping theory. We have analyzed solutions of the standard dispersion equations for longitudinal (electric) and transversal (electromagnetic and electron) waves in half-infinite slab of…
The fast solar wind is a collisionless plasma permeated by plasma waves on many different scales. A plasma wave represents the natural interplay between the periodic changes of the electromagnetic field and the associated coherent motions…
The effect of electrostatic microturbulence on fast particles rapidly decreases at high energy, but can be significant at moderate energy. Previous studies found that, in addition to changes in the energetic particle density, this results…
We present evidence that relativistic shocks propagating in unmagnetized plasmas can self-consistently accelerate particles. We use long-term two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to study the well-developed shock structure in…
The velocity distribution function (VDF) of the hypothetical Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), currently the most favored candidate for the Dark Matter (DM) in the Galaxy, is determined directly from the circular speed…
We apply collisionless particle-in-cell simulations of relativistic pair plasmas to explore whether driven turbulence is a viable high-energy astrophysical particle accelerator. We characterize nonthermal particle distributions for varying…
In astronomical environments, the high-temperature emission of plasma mainly depends on ion charge states, which requires accurate analysis of the ionization and recombination processes. For various phenomena involving energetic particles,…
The impact of superthermal electrons on dispersion properties of isotropic plasmas and on the modulational instability of a monochromatic Langmuir wave is studied for the case when the power-law tail of the electron distribution function…
This study investigates ion kinetic effects during the parametric decay instability (PDI) of parallel-propagating Alfv\'en waves under plasma conditions characteristic of the Earth's ionosphere. By using a series of hybrid particle-in-cell…
The shape of the anisotropic velocity distribution function, beyond the realm of strict Maxwellians can play a significant role in determining the evolution of the Weibel instability dictating the dynamics of self-generated magnetic fields.…
Large-deviations theory deals with tails of probability distributions and the rare events of random processes, for example spreading packets of particles. Mathematically, it concerns the exponential fall-of of the density of thin-tailed…
The stochastic acceleration of subrelativistic electrons from a background plasma is studied in order to find a possible explanation of the hard X-ray (HXR) emission detected from the Coma cluster. We calculate the necessary energy supply…
Space plasmas are known to be out of (local) thermodynamic equilibrium, as observations show direct or indirect evidences of non-thermal velocity distributions of plasma particles. Prominent are the anisotropies relative to the magnetic…
Boltzmann equations and their matrix valued generalisations are commonly used to describe nonequilibrium phenomena in cosmology. On the other hand, it is known that in gauge theories at high temperature processes involving many quanta,…
Particle acceleration at plasma shocks appears to be ubiquitous in the universe, spanning systems in the heliosphere, supernova remnants, and relativistic jets in distant active galaxies and gamma-ray bursts. This review addresses some of…
Plasmas in which there is a threshold for a dominant reaction to take place (such as recombination or attachment) will have particle distributions that evolve as the reaction progresses. The form of the Boltzmann collision term in such a…
The nature of the velocity distribution of a driven granular gas, though well studied, is unknown as to whether it is universal or not, and if universal what it is. We determine the tails of the steady state velocity distribution of a…
The nonthermal particle acceleration during magnetic reconnection remains a fundamental topic in several astrophysical phenomena, such as solar flares, pulsar wind, magnetars, etc, for more than half a century, and one of the unresolved…
Plasmas in Earth's outer magnetosphere, magnetosheath, and solar wind are essentially collisionless. This means particle distributions are not typically in thermodynamic equilibrium and deviate significantly from Maxwellian distributions.…