Related papers: dHybridR: a Hybrid--Particle-in-Cell Code Includin…
We present an improved version of the ECHO-QGP numerical code, which self-consistently includes for the first time the effects of electromagnetic fields within the framework of relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD). We discuss results of…
Heliospheric plasmas require multi-scale and multi-physics considerations. On one hand, MHD codes are widely used for global simulations of the solar-terrestrial environments, but do not provide the most elaborate physical description of…
This paper describes a new code for simulating astrophysical plasmas that solves a hybrid model composed of gyrokinetic ions (GKI) and an isothermal electron fluid (ITEF) [A. Schekochihin et al., Astrophys. J. Suppl. \textbf{182}, 310…
Implicit particle-in-cell codes offer advantages over their explicit counterparts in that they suffer weaker stability constraints on the need to resolve the higher frequency modes of the system. This feature may prove particularly valuable…
Thermal electrons cannot directly participate in the process of diffusive acceleration at electron-ion shocks because their Larmor radii are smaller than the shock transition width: this is the well-known electron injection problem of…
Radio frequency (RF) waves can provide heating, current and flow drive, as well as instability control for steady state operations of fusion experiments. A particle simulation model has been developed in this work to provide a…
We describe an implementation of a particle physics module available for the PLUTO code, appropriate for the dynamical evolution of a plasma consisting of a thermal fluid and a non-thermal component represented by relativistic charged…
In this paper we present a new three dimensional (3D) full electromagnetic relativistic hybrid plasma code H-VLPL (hybrid virtual laser plasma laboratory). The full kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) method is used to simulate low density hot…
In this thesis different numerical methods, as well as applications of the methods to a number of current problems in relativistic astrophysics, are presented. In the first part the theoretical foundation and numerical implementation of a…
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 3D-3V particle-in-cell simulations of fast-ion energy-loss rates in cold, weakly-magnetized, weakly-coupled plasma where the electron gyroradius, $\rho_{e}$, is comparable to or less than the Debye length, $\lambda_{De}$, and…
We describe a new hybrid framework to model non-thermal spectral signatures from highly energetic particles embedded in a large-scale classical or relativistic MHD flow. Our method makes use of \textit{Lagrangian} particles moving through…
High-intensity laser plasma interactions create complex computational problems because they involve both fluid and kinetic regimes, which need models that maintain physical precision while keeping computational speed. The research…
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…
We use kinetic hybrid simulations (kinetic ions - fluid electrons) to characterize the fraction of ions that are accelerated to non-thermal energies at non-relativistic collisionless shocks. We investigate the properties of the shock…
We use electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell codes to investigate the two-stream instability and Weibel instability when two beams of plasma collide head-on relativistically. We compare the dissipation of kinetic energies in the two cases. We…
We analyze the generation of kinetic instabilities and their effect on the energization of ions in non-relativistic, oblique collisionless shocks using a 3D-3V simulation by $\texttt{dHybridR}$, a hybrid particle-in-cell code. At…
When a magnetised, thermal plasma containing a shock wave efficiently accelerates Cosmic Rays (CR) a reaction is exerted on the fluid structure. The simplest description of this process involves three conservation equations for the…
The expansion of a magnetized high-pressure plasma into a low-pressure ambient medium is examined with particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The magnetic field points perpendicularly to the plasma's expansion direction and binary collisions…
Cosmic ray (CR) currents through magnetised plasma drive strong instabilities producing amplification of the magnetic field. This amplification helps explain the CR energy spectrum as well as observations of supernova remnants and radio…