Related papers: Electron Heating in Perpendicular Low-Beta Shocks
Numerical models of collisionless shocks robustly predict an electron distribution comprised of both thermal and non-thermal electrons. Here, we explore in detail the effect of thermal electrons on the emergent synchrotron emission from…
The impulsive phase of a solar flare is known to generate strong turbulence and to transfer magnetic energy into accelerated electrons. Recognizing the importance of angular diffusion on the dynamics of the accelerated electrons, we extend…
The traditional generalized Ohm's law in MHD do not explicitly present the relation of electric currents and electric fields in fully ionized plasma, and lead to some unexpected concepts, such as "the magnetic frozen-in plasma", magnetic…
Using 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) plasma simulations we study electron acceleration by temperature anisotropy instabilities, assuming conditions typical of above-the-loop-top (ALT) sources in solar flares. We focus on the long-term effect of…
We have used the free expansion of ultracold neutral plasmas as a time-resolved probe of electron temperature. A combination of experimental measurements of the ion expansion velocity and numerical simulations characterize the crossover…
Solar wind provides an example of a weakly collisional plasma expanding from a thermal source in the presence of spatially diverging magnetic field lines. Observations show that in the inner heliosphere, the electron temperature declines…
Despite heat flux's role in regulating energy conversion in collisionless plasmas, its properties and evolution in the magnetosheath downstream of the Earth's bow shock are scarcely explored. We use MMS in situ measurements to quantify and…
In the parts of the solar corona and solar wind that experience the fewest Coulomb collisions, the component proton, electron, and heavy ion populations are not in thermal equilibrium with one another. Observed differences in temperatures,…
Electron acceleration in high Mach number perpendicular shocks is investigated through two-dimensional electrostatic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. We simulate the shock foot region by modeling particles that consist of three components…
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 thermal pressure-driven radial blast shell into a dilute ambient plasma is examined with two-dimensional PIC simulations. The purpose is to determine if laminar shocks form in a collisionless plasma that resemble their…
Context: Cosmic ray acceleration in galaxy clusters is still an ongoing puzzle, with relativistic electrons forming radio relics at merger shocks and emitting synchrotron radiation. In the present work we perform hybrid-kinetic simulations…
The afterglow emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is usually interpreted as synchrotron radiation from electrons accelerated at the GRB external shock, that propagates with relativistic velocities into the magnetized interstellar medium.…
A central problem of space plasma physics is how protons and electrons are heated in a turbulent, magnetized plasma. The differential heating of charged species due to dissipation of turbulent fluctuations plays a key role in solar wind…
The solar wind undergoes significant heating as it propagates away from the Sun; the exact mechanisms responsible for this heating are not yet fully understood. We present for the first time a statistical test for one of the proposed…
We survey the electron heat flux observed by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) in the near-Sun environment at heliocentric distances of 0.125-0.25 AU. We utilized measurements from the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons and FIELDS…
In situ observations of the solar wind frequently show the temperature of $\alpha$-particles (fully ionized helium), $T_\alpha$, to significantly differ from that of protons (ionized hydrogen), $T_p$. Many heating processes in the plasma…
A leading explanation for the origin of Galactic cosmic rays is acceleration at high-Mach number shock waves in the collisionless plasma surrounding young supernova remnants. Evidence for this is provided by multi-wavelength non-thermal…
The analysis of the wave content inside a perpendicular bow shock indicates that heating of ions is related to the Lower-Hybrid-Drift (LHD) instability, and heating of electrons to the Electron-Cyclotron-Drift (ECD) instability. Both…
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…