Related papers: Oblique instability and electron acceleration in r…
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…
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…
The dynamics of electric field generation and radial acceleration of ions by a laser pulse of relativistic intensity propagating in an underdense plasma has been investigated using an one-dimensional electrostatic, ponderomotive model…
Ab-initio numerical study of collisionless shocks in electron-ion unmagnetized plasmas is performed with fully relativistic particle in cell simulations. The main properties of the shock are shown, focusing on the implications for particle…
Intense laser-plasma interactions are an essential tool for the laboratory study of ion acceleration at a collisionless shock. With two-dimensional particle-in-cell calculations of a multicomponent plasma we observe two electrostatic…
Electrons in an expanding ultracold plasma are expected to be in quasi-equilibrium, since the collision times are short compared to the plasma lifetime, yet we observe electrons evaporating out as the ion density decreases during expansion.…
Electron and ion energization (i.e., heating and nonthermal acceleration) is a fundamental, but poorly understood, outcome of plasma turbulence. In this work, we present new results on this topic from particle-in-cell simulations of driven…
We present the results from a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation that models the interaction between a spatially localized electron-positron cloud and an electron-ion plasma. The latter is permeated by a magnetic field that is initially…
The expansion of a radial blast shell into an ambient plasma is modeled with a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The unmagnetized plasma consists of electrons and protons. The formation and evolution of an electrostatic shock is observed,…
The physics of plasmas containing positive and negative ions is discussed with special attention to the recently produced pair-ion plasma containing ions of equal mass and opposite charge. The effects of the density gradient in the…
The electrostatic perturbations in an unmagnetized, non-isothermal ($T_i{\ll}T_e$) electron-ion plasma shear flow are considered. New physical effects, arising due to the non-normality of linear dynamics, are described. It is shown that the…
Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of collisionless jets of electrons and positrons in an ambient electron-proton plasma have revealed an acceleration of positrons at the expense of electron kinetic energy. The dominant instability within…
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…
The acceleration of ions in the interaction of high intensity laser pulses with overdense plasmas is investigated with particle-in-cell simulations. For circular polarization of the laser pulses, high-density ion bunches moving into the…
This paper is a simulation based investigation of the effect of elastic collisions and effectively elastic-like excitation collisions between electrons and background neutrals on the dynamics of a cylindrically trapped electron cloud that…
A new electron acceleration mechanism is identified that develops when a relativistically intense laser irradiates the wedge of an over-dense plasma. This induces a diffracted electromagnetic wave with a significant longitudinal electric…
Interaction of an intense electron beam with a finite-length, inhomogeneous plasma is investigated numerically. The plasma density profile is maximal in the middle and decays towards the plasma edges. Two regimes of the two-stream…
We analyse the full shock formation process in electron-ion plasmas in theory and simulations. It is accepted that electromagnetic shocks in initially unmagnetised relativistic plasmas are triggered by the filamentation instability.…
In plasmas with electron drift (current) relative to static ions, the ion acoustic wave is subject to the kinetic instability which takes place if the directed electron speed exceeds the ion acoustic speed. The instability threshold becomes…
Plasma current filamentation of an ultrarelativistic electron beam impinging on an overdense plasma is investigated, with emphasis on radiation-induced electron polarization. Particle-in-cell simulations provide the classification and…