Related papers: Stream instabilities in relativistically hot plasm…
The Weibel instability is investigated with PIC simulations of an initially unmagnetized and spatially uniform electron plasma. This instability, which is driven by the thermally anisotropic electron distribution, generates electromagnetic…
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 time evolution of collective modes in an expanding ultarelativistic and (effectively) Abelian plasma is studied in the hard-loop approximation semi-analytically by means of integro-differential equations. A previous treatment is…
In this first paper of a series dedicated to the microphysics of unmagnetized, relativistic collisionless pair shocks, we discuss the physics of the Weibel-type transverse current filamentation instability (CFI) that develops in the shock…
The growth and saturation of Buneman-type instabilities is examined with a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation for parameters that are representative for the foreshock region of fast supernova remnant (SNR) shocks. A dense ion beam and the…
We show that grains streaming through a fluid are generically unstable if their velocity, projected along some direction, matches the phase velocity of a fluid wave (linear oscillation). This can occur whenever grains stream faster than any…
Shocks in relativistically hot plasmas are thought to exist in various high-energy astrophysical phenomena, but it is not clear how relativistic collisionless shocks are formed, whether particles are accelerated by the shock as in the case…
Ablating a target with an ultraintense laser pulse can create a cloud of collisionless plasma. A density ramp forms, in which the plasma density decreases and the ion's mean speed increases with distance from the plasma source. Its width…
A new element is proposed to play a role in the evolution of extrasolar planetary systems: the tidal (or elliptical) instability. It comes from a parametric resonance and takes place in any rotating fluid whose streamlines are (even…
Plasma current filamentation of an ultrarelativistic electron beam impinging on an overdense plasma is investigated, with emphasis on radiation-induced electron polarization. Particle-in-cell simulations provide the classification and…
First-principles kinetic simulations are used to investigate magnetic field generation processes in expanding ablated plasmas relevant to laser-driven foils and hohlraums. In addition to Biermann-battery-generated magnetic fields, strong…
We examine linear and quasi-liner stages of Cherenkov-drift instability in the relativistic magnetized electron-positron plasma. The external magnetic field lines are assumed to be slightly curved. In this case the curvature drift of…
We develop a comprehensive theoretical model of relativistic collisionless pair shocks mediated by the current filamentation instability. We notably characterize the noninertial frame in which this instability is of a mostly magnetic…
The transverse stability of the target is crucial for obtaining high quality ion beams using the laser radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) mechanism. In this letter, a theoretical model and supporting two-dimensional (2D) Particle-in-Cell…
Spatio-temporal evolution of the relativistic Buneman instability has been investigated in one dimension using an in-house developed particle-in-cell simulation code. Starting from the excitation of the instability, its evolution has been…
If dark matter (DM) is millicharged or darkly charged, collective plasma processes may dominate momentum exchange over direct particle collisions. Plasma streaming instabilities can couple the momentum of the DM to counter-streaming baryons…
Ultra-intense lasers that ionize and accelerate electrons in solids to near the speed of light can lead to kinetic instabilities that alter the laser absorption and subsequent electron transport, isochoric heating, and ion acceleration.…
Relativistic self-focusing and channeling of intense laser pulses have been studied in underdense plasma using 2D PIC simulations, for different laser powers and plasma densities. Analytical solutions for the stationary evacuated channels…
In plasmas with electron drift (current) relative to static ions, the ion acoustic wave is subject to the kinetic instability which takes place if the directed electron speed exceeds the ion acoustic speed. The instability threshold becomes…
The Weibel/filamentation instability is known to play a key role in the physics of weakly magnetized collisionless shock waves. From the point of view of high energy astrophysics, this instability also plays a crucial role because its…