Related papers: The microphysics of collisionless shock waves
While collisionless plasmas are ubiquitously present near astrophysical compact objects, the impact that their composition has on the high-energy emission is presently unknown. We present the first investigation of particle-acceleration…
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 expansion of a dense plasma through a more rarefied ionised medium is a phenomenon of interest in various physics environments ranging from astrophysics to high energy density laser- matter laboratory experiments. Here this situation is…
We present here a semi-analytical solution of the problem of particle acceleration at non-linear shock waves with a free escape boundary at some location upstream. This solution, besides allowing us to determine the spectrum of particles…
In shockwave theory, the density, velocity and pressure jumps are derived from the conservation equations. Here, we address the physics of a weak shock the other way around. We first show that the density profile of a weak shockwave in a…
Astrophysical plasmas can have parameters vastly different from the more studied laboratory and space plasmas. In particular, the magnetic fields can be the dominant component of the plasma, with energy-density exceeding the particle…
Cosmological hydrodynamic simulations have demonstrated that shock waves could be produced in the intergalactic medium by supersonic flow motions during the course of hierarchical clustering of the large-scale-structure in the Universe.…
Internal shocks between propagating plasma shells, originally ejected at different times with different velocities are believed to play a major role in dissipating the kinetic energy, thereby explaining the observed lightcurve and spectra…
Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle…
Turbulence is a phenomenon found throughout space and astrophysical plasmas. It plays an important role in solar coronal heating, acceleration of the solar wind, and heating of the interstellar medium. Turbulence in these regimes is…
The efficiency of particle acceleration at shock waves in relativistic, magnetized astrophysical outflows is a debated topic with far-reaching implications. Here, for the first time, we study the impact of turbulence in the pre-shock…
Collisionless shocks generated by two colliding relativistic electron-positron plasma shells are studied using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Shocks are mediated by the Weibel instability (WI), and the kinetic energy of the fastest…
Particles crossing repeatedly the surface of a shock wave can be energized by first order Fermi acceleration. The linear theory is successful in describing the acceleration process as long as the pressure of the accelerated particles…
The process of diffusive shock acceleration relies on the efficacy with which hydromagnetic waves can scatter charged particles in the precursor of a shock. The growth of self-generated waves is driven by both resonant and non-resonant…
According to magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), the encounter of two collisional magnetized plasmas at high velocity gives rise to shock waves. Investigations conducted so far have found that the same conclusion still holds in the case of…
The non-thermal particle spectra responsible for the emission from many astrophysical systems are thought to originate from shocks via a first order Fermi process otherwise known as diffusive shock acceleration. The same mechanism is also…
The collisionless interaction of an expanding high-energy plasma cloud with a magnetized background plasma in the presence of a dipole magnetic field is examined in the framework of a 2D3V hybrid (kinetic ions and massless fluid electrons)…
Questions regarding energy dissipation in astrophysical jets are open to date, despite of numerous attempts to limit the diversity of models. Some of the most popular models assume that energy is transferred to particles via internal…
We model the diffusive shock acceleration of particles in a system of two colliding shock waves and present a method to solve the time-dependent problem analytically in the test-particle approximation and high energy limit. In particular,…
A theoretical analysis for astrophysics-oriented laser-matter interaction experiments in the presence of a strong ambient magnetic field is presented. It is shown that the plasma collision in the ambient magnetic field implies significant…