Related papers: Shock formation in electron-ion plasmas: mechanism…
A pair of curved shocks in a collisionless plasma is examined with a two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The shocks are created by the collision of two electron-ion clouds at a speed that exceeds everywhere the threshold…
It is argued and demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations that the synchrotron maser instability could develop at the front of a relativistic, magnetized shock. The instability generates strong low-frequency electromagnetic waves…
Mildly relativistic shocks in magnetized electron-ion plasmas are investigated with 2D kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of unprecedentedly high resolution and large scale for conditions that may be found at internal shocks in blazar…
Nonrelativistic electrostatic unmagnetized shocks are frequently observed in laboratory plasmas and they are likely to exist in astrophysical plasmas. Their maximum speed, expressed in units of the ion acoustic speed far upstream of the…
Relativistic collisionless shocks in electron-ion plasma are thought to occur in the afterglow phase of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), and in other environments where relativistic flows interact with the interstellar medium. A particular regime…
Energetic electromagnetic emissions by astrophysical jets like those that are launched during the collapse of a massive star and trigger gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are partially attributed to relativistic internal shocks. The shocks are…
Collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in astrophysics and in the lab. Recent numerical simulations and experiments have shown how they can arise from the encounter of two collisionless plasma shells. When the shells interpenetrate, the…
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…
A two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation with the realistic ion-to-electron mass ratio of 1836 is carried out to investigate the electrostatic collisionless shocks in relatively high-speed (~3000 km s^-1) plasma flows…
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…
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…
Laser-driven collisonless electrostatic shock formation and the subsequent ion acceleration have been studied in near critical density plasmas. Particle-in-cell simulations show that both the speed of laser-driven collisionless…
A two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation is performed to investigate weakly magnetized perpendicular shocks with a magnetization parameter of 6 x 10^-5, which is equivalent to a high Alfv\'en Mach number M_A of ~130. It is shown that…
The filamentation instability triggered when two counter streaming plasma shells overlap appears to be the main mechanism by which collisionless shocks are generated. It has been known for long that a flow aligned magnetic field can…
The formation of unmagnetized electrostatic shock-like structures with a high Mach number is examined with one- and two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The structures are generated through the collision of two identical…
We explore analytically the structure of relativistic shock and solitary wave solutions in collisionless plasmas. In the wave frame of reference, a cold plasma is flowing from one end and impacting on a low velocity plasma. First we show…
The current filamentation instability, which generically arises in the counterstreaming of supersonic plasma flows, is known for its ability to convert the free energy associated with anisotropic momentum distributions into kinetic-scale…
We model relativistically colliding plasma by PIC simulations in one and two spatial dimensions, taking an ion-to-electron mass ratio of 400. Energy dissipation by a wave precursor of mixed polarity and different densities of the colliding…
We discuss magnetic field generation by the proton Weibel instability in relativistic shocks, a situation that applies to the external shocks in the fireball model for Gamma-ray Bursts, and possibly also to internal shocks. Our analytical…
We investigate the physics of quasi-parallel trans-relativistic shocks propagating in weakly magnetized plasmas by means of long-duration two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The structure of the shock precursor is shaped by a…