Related papers: Particle acceleration in axisymmetric pulsar curre…
We present the magnetic and electric field structures as well as the currents and charge densities of pulsar magnetospheres which do not obey the ideal condition, ${\bf E \cdot B =0}$. Since the acceleration of particles and the production…
The physics of the pulsar inner magnetosphere remains poorly constrained by observations. Although about 2000 pulsars have been discovered to date, little is known about their emission mechanism. Large vacuum gaps probably exist and a…
We present simulations of magnetized astrophysical shocks taking into account the interplay between the thermal plasma of the shock and supra-thermal particles. Such interaction is depicted by combining a grid-based magneto-hydrodynamics…
We study the acceleration of electrons and protons interacting with localized, multiple, small-scale dissipation regions inside an evolving, turbulent active region. The dissipation regions are Unstable Current Sheets (UCS), and in their…
(abridged) Pulsar activity and its related radiation mechanism are usually explained by invoking some plasma processes occurring inside the magnetosphere. Despite many detailed local investigations, the global electrodynamics around those…
The magnetic field associated with neutron stars is generally believed to be threaded inside the star. In the presence of a magnetic field, the plasma present in the interior of the star goes through several processes that lead to magnetic…
Fast magnetosonic waves in a magnetically-dominated plasma are investigated. In the pulsar wind, these waves may transport a significant fraction of the energy flux. It is shown that the nonlinear steepening and subsequent formation of…
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 by electrostatic polarization fields that arise in plasmas streaming across magnetic fields is discussed as a possible acceleration mechanism of highest-energy cosmic rays. Specifically, plasmoids arising in planetoid…
Pulsar magnetospheres have strong magnetic fields and large amounts of plasma. The structures of these magnetospheres are studied using force-free electrodynamics. To understand pulsar magnetospheres, discussions must include their outer…
We consider the classical picture of three dimensional motion of charged particles in pulsar magnetosphere. We adopt a perturbative method to solve the equation of motion, and find the trajectory of particles as they move along the rotating…
We consider the curvature radiation of the point-like charge moving relativistically along curved magnetic field lines through a pulsar magnetospheric electron-positron plasma. We demonstrate that the radiation power is largely suppressed…
We investigate the particle accelerator that arises in a rotating neutron-star magnetosphere. Solving the Poisson equation for the electro-static potential, the Boltzmann equations for relativistic electrons and positrons, and the radiative…
We present a novel numerical scheme for simulating the motion of relativistic charged particles in magnetospheres of compact objects, typically filled with highly magnetized collisionless plasmas. The new algorithm is based on a dynamic…
Turbulence is often invoked to explain the origin of nonthermal particles in space and astrophysical plasmas. By means of 3D fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate that turbulence in low-$\beta$ plasmas ($\beta$ is the…
Stationary force-free magnetosphere of an axisymmetric pulsar is shown to have a separatrix inclination angle of 77.3$^\circ$. The electromagnetic field has an $R^{-1/2}$ singularity inside the separatrix near the light cylinder. A…
Particle transport, acceleration and energisation are phenomena of major importance for both space and laboratory plasmas. Despite years of study, an accurate theoretical description of these effects is still lacking. Validating models with…
Plasma energization through magnetic reconnection in the magnetically-dominated regime featured by low plasma beta ($\beta = 8 \pi nkT_0/B^2 \ll 1$) and/or high magnetization ($\sigma = B^2/(4 \pi nmc^2) \gg 1$) is important in a series of…
This review aims at providing an up-to-date status and a general introduction to the subject of the numerical study of energetic particle acceleration and transport in turbulent astrophysical flows. The subject is also complemented by a…
Global particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of pulsar magnetospheres are performed with a volume, surface and pair production-based plasma injection schemes to systematically investigate the transition between electrosphere and force-free…