Related papers: Low Mach-number collisionless electrostatic shocks…
Strong non-relativistic shocks are known to accelerate particles up to relativistic energies. However, for Diffusive Shock Acceleration electrons must have a highly suprathermal energy, implying a need for very efficient pre-acceleration.…
We report on reproducible shock acceleration from irradiation of a $\lambda = 10$ $\mu$m CO$_2$ laser on optically shaped H$_2$ and He gas targets. A low energy laser prepulse ($I\lesssim10^{14}\, {\rm Wcm^{-2}}$) was used to drive a blast…
Collisionless shock acceleration of carbon ions (C$^{6+}$) is investigated in the ultra-relativistic regime of laser-plasma interaction by accounting for the radiation reaction force and the pair production in particle-in-cell simulations.…
Recent X-ray observations of merger shocks in galaxy clusters have shown that the post-shock plasma is two-temperature, with the protons hotter than the electrons. By means of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we study the…
We use 2D and 3D hybrid (kinetic ions - fluid electrons) simulations to investigate particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification at non-relativistic astrophysical shocks. We show that diffusive shock acceleration operates for…
Colliding collisionless shocks appear in a great variety of astrophysical phenomena and are thought to be possible sources of particle acceleration in the Universe. To investigate the detailed dynamics of this phenomenon, we have performed…
We study the stability properties of hydrodynamic shocks with finite Mach numbers. The linear analysis supplements previous analyses which took the strong shock limit. We derive the linearised equations for a general specific heat ratio as…
Collisionless shocks heat electrons in the solar wind, interstellar blast waves, and hot gas permeating galaxy clusters. How much shock heating goes to electrons instead of ions, and what plasma physics controls electron heating? We…
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…
We present the results of large hybrid (kinetic ions - fluid electrons) simulations of particle acceleration at non-relativistic collisionless shocks. Ion acceleration efficiency and magnetic field amplification are investigated in detail…
We present results of 2D3V particle-in-cell simulations of non-relativistic plasma collisions with absent or parallel large-scale magnetic field for parameters applicable to the conditions at young supernova remnants. We study the collision…
A two-dimensional (2D) shock-rest-frame model for particle simulations is developed. Then full kinetic dynamics of a perpendicular collisionless shock is examined by means of a 2D full particle simulation. We found that in the 2D simulation…
The energy partition in high Mach number collisionless shock waves is central to a wide range of high-energy astrophysical environments. We present a new theoretical model for electron heating that accounts for the energy exchange between…
Collisionless electron-ion shocks are fundamental to astrophysical plasmas, yet their behavior in strong magnetic fields remains poorly understood. Using Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations with the SHARP-1D3V code, we investigate the role…
We discuss 3D simulations of relativistic collisionless shocks in electron-positron pair plasmas using the particle-in-cell (PIC) method. The shock structure is mainly controlled by the shock's magnetization ("sigma" parameter). We…
Colliding collisionless shocks appear in a great variety of astrophysical phenomena and are thought to be possible sources of particle acceleration in the Universe. We have previously investigated particle acceleration induced by single…
We report on the temporally and spatially resolved detection of the precursory stages that lead to the formation of an unmagnetized, supercritical collision-less shock in a laser-driven laboratory experiment. The measured evolution of the…
Hot-cold ablative mixing plasmas are ubiquitous in astrophysical and laboratory systems, where a cold/dense plasma is roughly in pressure balance with a hot/dilute plasma. Examples include the plasma thermal quench during major disruptions…
The first critical fast Mach number is defined for a magnetohydrodynamic shock as the Mach number where the shock transitions from subcritical, laminar, behavior to supercritical behavior, characterized by incident ion reflection from the…
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…