Related papers: PIC Simulation Methods for Cosmic Radiation and Pl…
We present particle-in-cell simulations of one dimensional relativistic electromagnetic shocks in a uniform magnetic field, for a range of magnetic field strengths, plasma temperatures and numerical initial conditions. We show that the…
The growth and saturation of Buneman-type instabilities is examined with a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation for parameters that are representative for the foreshock region of fast supernova remnant (SNR) shocks. A dense ion beam and the…
The expansion of a dense plasma into a dilute plasma across an initially uniform perpendicular magnetic field is followed with a one-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation over MHD time scales. The dense plasma expands in the form of…
A fundamental task in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of plasma physics is solving for charged particle motion in electromagnetic fields. This problem is especially challenging when the plasma is strongly magnetized due to numerical…
Collisionless shocks are common features in space and astrophysical systems where supersonic plasma flows interact, such as in the solar wind, the heliopause, and supernova remnants. Recent experimental capabilities and diagnostics allow…
Particle-in-cell (PIC) plasma simulations are a productive and valued tool for the study of nonlinear plasma phenomena, yet there are basic questions about the simulation methods themselves that remain unanswered. Here we study one such…
Plasma flow and acceleration in a magnetic mirror configuration are studied using a drift-kinetic particles-in-cell model in the paraxial approximation, with an emphasis on finite temperature effects and energy transport. Energy conversion…
We address the question of whether numerical particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations and laboratory laser-plasma experiments can (or will be able to, in the near future) model realistic gamma-ray burst (GRB) shocks. For this, we compare the…
One of the main features of astrophysical shocks is their ability to accelerate particles to extremely high energies. The leading acceleration mechanism, the diffusive shock acceleration is reviewed. It is demonstrated that its efficiency…
Magnetized jets in GRBs and AGNs are thought to be efficient accelerators of particles, however, the process responsible for the acceleration is still a matter of active debate. In this work, we study the kink-instability in non-rotating…
Two-dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of radiative magnetic reconnection in pair plasmas with multiple interacting current sheets are carried out to mimic the dynamics in high-energy astrophysical environments,…
Magnetized collisionless shocks drive particle acceleration broadly in space and astrophysics. We perform the first large-scale particle-in-cell simulations with realistic laboratory parameters (density, temperature, and velocity) to…
Various systems can be modeled as a point-like explosion of ionized debris into a magnetized, collisionless background plasma -- including astrophysical examples, active experiments in space, and laser-driven laboratory experiments. Debris…
Supernova remnant (SNR) blast shells can reach the flow speed $v_s = 0.1 c$ and shocks form at its front. Instabilities driven by shock-reflected ion beams heat the plasma in the foreshock, which may inject particles into diffusive…
We present a novel Relativistic Semi-Implicit Method (RelSIM) for particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of astrophysical plasmas, implemented in a code framework ready for production runs. While explicit PIC methods have gained widespread…
We investigate the dynamics of plasma-based acceleration processes with collisionless particle dynamics and non negligible thermal effects. We aim at assessing the applicability of fluid-like models, obtained by suitable closure assumptions…
The acceleration of protons and electrons in a reconnecting current sheet (RCS) is simulated with a particle-in-cell (PIC) 2D3V code for the proton-to-electron mass ratio of 100. The electro-magnetic configuration forming the RCS…
The nonlinear space-charge effects play an important role in high intensity/high brightness accelerators. These effects can be self-consistently studied using multi-particle simulations. In this lecture, we will discuss the particle-in-cell…
Influence of the plasma collisions on the laser-driven collisionless shock formation and subsequent ion acceleration is studied on the basis of two different collisional algorithms and their implementations in two well-known…
We herein investigate shock formation and particle acceleration processes for both protons and electrons in a quasi-parallel high-Mach-number collisionless shock through a long-term, large-scale particle-in-cell simulation. We show that…