Related papers: The microphysics of collisionless shock waves
In this paper, the first in a series, we present a new theoretical model for the global structure and dissipation of relativistically magnetized collisionless shock waves. Quite remarkably, we find that in contrast to unmagnetized shocks,…
In this second paper of a series, we discuss the dynamics of a plasma entering the precursor of an unmagnetized, relativistic collisionless pair shock. We discuss how this background plasma is decelerated and heated through its interaction…
Context. The diffusive shock acceleration mechanism has been widely accepted as the acceleration mechanism for galactic cosmic rays. While self-consistent hybrid simulations have shown how power-law spectra are produced, detailed…
We report here on a fast current-driven instability at relativistic collisionless shocks, triggered by the perpendicular current carried by the supra-thermal particles as they gyrate around the background magnetic field in the shock…
Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are…
Collisionless, turbulent plasmas surround the Earth, from the magnetosphere to the intergalactic medium, and the fluctuations within them affect nearly every field in the space sciences, from space weather forecasts to theories of galaxy…
Shock waves propagating in collisionless heliospheric and astrophysical plasmas have been studied extensively over the decades. One prime motivation is to understand the nonthermal particle acceleration at shocks. Although the theory of…
Studies of energetic particle acceleration at collisionless shocks by the diffusive shock acceleration process indicate that completely smooth cosmic ray dominated shock structures are possible. The existence of these is discussed and…
Laser-ablated high-energy-density (HED) plasmas offer a promising route to study astrophysically relevant processes underlying collisionless shock formation, magnetic field amplification, and particle acceleration in the laboratory. Using…
Shocks in astrophysical transients are key sites of particle acceleration. If the shock upstream is optically thick, radiation smoothens the velocity discontinuity at the shock (radiation-mediated shocks). However, in mildly magnetized…
The formation of collisionless shock fronts is an ubiquitous phenomenon in space plasma environments. In the solar wind shocks might accompany coronal mass ejections, while even more violent events, such as supernovae, produce shock fronts…
Supernova remnants (SNRs), the products of stellar explosions, are powerful astrophysical laboratories, which allow us to study the physics of collisionless shocks, thanks to their bright electromagnetic emission. Blast wave shocks…
Particle acceleration at astrophysical shocks may be very efficient if magnetic scattering is self-generated by the same particles. This nonlinear process adds to the nonlinear modification of the shock due to the dynamical reaction of the…
Collisionless shocks tend to send charged particles into the upstream, driving electric currents through the plasma. Using kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate how the background thermal plasma neutralizes such currents in…
We present the first laboratory observations of time-resolved electron and ion velocity distributions in forming, magnetized collisionless shocks. Thomson scattering of a probe laser beam was used to observe the interaction of a…
In the standard cosmological paradigm, structure formation occurs via gravitational encounters and mergers between galaxies and dark matter halos. These collisionless self-gravitating systems therefore prevail in a state of non-equilibrium…
The outflows from gamma ray bursts, active galactic nuclei and relativistic jets in general interact with the surrounding media through collisionless shocks. With three dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell simulations we investigate…
lasma instabilities excited in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle acceleration. We have investigated the particle acceleration and shock structure associated with an unmagnetized relativistic electron-positron jet propagating…
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…
Collisionless plasma shocks are a common feature of many space and astrophysical systems and are sources of high-energy particles and non-thermal emission, channeling as much as 20\% of the shock's energy into non-thermal particles. The…