Related papers: A relativistic particle pusher for ultra-strong el…
Using 2.5-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations, we study the kinetic physics of relativistic shear flow boundary in collisionless electron-positron (e+e-) plasmas. We find efficient magnetic field generation and particle energization at…
The main issue of the pulsar magnetosphere is how the rotation power is converted into both particle beams which causes pulsed emissions, and a highly relativistic wind of electron-positron plasmas which forms surrounding nebulae shining in…
We review the physics of relativistic shocks, which are often invoked as the sources of non-thermal particles in pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets, and as possible sources of…
We present evidence that relativistic shocks propagating in unmagnetized plasmas can self-consistently accelerate particles. We use long-term two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to study the well-developed shock structure in…
Magnetic reconnection in the relativistic and trans-relativistic regimes is able to accelerate particles to hard power law energy spectra $f \propto \gamma^{-p}$ (approaching $p=1$). The underlying acceleration mechanism that determines the…
Due to its ubiquitous presence, turbulence is often invoked to explain the origin of nonthermal particles in astrophysical sources of high-energy emission. With particle-in-cell simulations, we study decaying turbulence in…
While collisionless plasmas are ubiquitously present near astrophysical compact objects, the impact that their composition has on the high-energy emission is presently unknown. We present the first investigation of particle-acceleration…
We study the radiation damping effect on the relativistic acceleration of electron-positron plasmas with two-and-half-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. Particles are accelerated by Poynting flux via the diamagnetic relativistic…
The physics governing electron acceleration by a relativistically intense laser are not confined to the critical density surface, they also pervade the sub-critical plasma in front of the target. Here, particles can gain many times the…
Plasma-Based Acceleration (PBA) has been demonstrated using laser, electron, and proton drivers. However, significant challenges remain in achieving high efficiency, stable acceleration, and scalable energy gain. Heavy ion beam drivers,…
Magnetic reconnection in relativistic plasmas -- where the magnetization $\sigma\gg1$ -- is regarded as an efficient particle accelerator, capable of explaining the most dramatic astrophysical flares. We employ two-dimensional (2D)…
Direct observations of compact objects, in the form of radiation spectra, gravitational waves from VIRGO/LIGO, and forthcoming direct imaging, are currently one of the primary source of information on the physics of plasmas in extreme…
We investigate the dynamics of a relativistic electron in a strongly nonlinear plasma wave in terms of classical mechanics by taking into account the action of the radiative reaction force. The two limiting cases are considered. In the…
We generalize the derivation of electromagnetic fields of a charged particle moving with a constant acceleration [1] to a variable acceleration (piecewise constants) over a small finite time interval using Coulomb's law, relativistic…
In energetic nonthermal sources such as gamma-ray bursts, AGN or galactic jet sources, etc., one expects both relativistic and transrelativistic shocks acompanied by violent motions of moderately relativistic plasma. We present general…
Analytic expressions for the fields of a radially polarized, ultrashort and tightly focused laser pulse propagating in a linear-response plasma are derived and discussed. The fields are obtained from solving the inhomogenous wave equations…
The radiation damping effect on the diamagnetic relativistic pulse accelerator (DRPA) is studied in two-and-half dimensional Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulation with magnetized electron-positron plasmas. Self-consistently solved radiation…
The energy production through thermo-nuclear fusion requires the confinement of the plasma into a bounded domain. In most of the cases, such configurations are obtained by using strong magnetic fields. Several models exist for describing…
This paper presents numerical simulations of test particle Fermi acceleration at relativistic shocks of Lorentz factor Gamma_sh = 2-60, using a realistic downstream magnetic structure obtained from the shock jump conditions. The upstream…
We derive an equation for energy transfer from relativistic charged particles to a cold background plasma appropriate for finite-size particles that are used in particle-in-cell simulation codes. Expressions for one-, two-, and…