Related papers: dHybridR: a Hybrid--Particle-in-Cell Code Includin…
A possible solution to the unexplained high intensity hard x-ray (HXR) emission observable during solar flares was investigated via 3D fully relativistic, electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations with realistic ion to electron…
A cosmological hydrodynamic code is described, which includes a routine to compute cosmic ray acceleration and transport in a simplified way. The routine was designed to follow explicitly diffusive acceleration at shocks, and second-order…
In this dissertation, a fully object-oriented, fully relativistic, multi-dimensional Particle-In-Cell code was developed and applied to answer key questions in plasma-based accelerator research. The simulations increase the understanding of…
We develop analytic approximations of thermodynamic functions of fully ionized nonideal electron-ion plasma mixtures. In the regime of strong Coulomb coupling, we use our previously developed analytic approximations for the free energy of…
We consider cosmic ray (CR) modified shocks with both streaming and diffusion in the two-fluid description. Previously, numerical codes were unable to incorporate streaming in this demanding regime, and have never been compared against…
The transport of energetic particles such as Cosmic Rays is governed by the properties of the plasma being traversed. While these properties are rather poorly known for galactic and interstellar plasmas due to the lack of in situ…
Two extreme events in the universe, fast radio bursts (FRBs) and cosmic rays (CRs), could be correlated, where FRBs with extreme field strength near their sources may contribute to CRs. This study investigates localized particle…
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 investigate the process of Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA) of particles with mass number to charge number ratios $A/Q > 1$, e.g., partially-ionized heavy ions. To this end, we introduce helium- and carbon-like ions at solar abundances…
This study focuses on energy conversion related to tearing-driven magnetic reconnection in the context of weakly collisional astrophysical plasmas. We present results from a two-dimensional hybrid particle-in-cell simulation employing novel…
Non-thermal (relativistic) particles are injected into the cosmos by structure formation shock waves, active galactic nuclei and stellar explosions. We present a suite of unigrid cosmological simulations (up to $2048^3$) using a two-fluid…
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…
Advances in ultra-intense laser technology are enabling, for the first time, relativistic intensities at mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths. Anticipating further experimental research in this domain, we present high-resolution two…
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…
Particle acceleration in collisionless plasma systems is a central question in astroplasma and astroparticle physics. The structure of the acceleration regions, electron-ion energy equilibration, preacceleration of particles at shocks to…
We introduce CAFE, a new independent code designed to solve the equations of Relativistic ideal Magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) in 3D. We present the standard tests for a RMHD code and for the Relativistic Hydrodynamics (RHD) regime since we…
Using a full kinetic, implicit particle-in-cell code, iPiC3D, we studied the properties of plasma kinetic turbulence, such as would be found at the interface between the solar wind and the Earth magnetosphere at low latitude during…
Simulations are performed to investigate turbulent properties of nonlinearly interacting two-dimensional (2D) magnetic electron drift vortex (MEDV) modes in a nonuniform unmagnetized plasma. The relevant nonlinear equations governing the…
We study particle acceleration in strongly turbulent pair plasmas using novel 3D Particle-in-Cell simulations, featuring particle injection from an external heat bath and diffusive escape. We demonstrate the formation of steady-state,…
Magnetic reconnection (MR) plays a fundamental role in plasma dynamics under many different conditions, from space and astrophysical environments to laboratory devices. High-resolution in-situ measurements from space missions allow to study…