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In space and astrophysical plasmas, like in planetary magnetospheres, as that of Mercury,energetic electrons are often found near current sheets (CSs), which hints at electron acceleration by magnetic reconnection. Unfortunately, electron…
The meeting of astrophysical plasmas and their magnetic fields creates many reconnection sites. We experimentally compare the reconnection rate of laser-driven magnetic reconnection when it takes place at a single site and multiple sites.…
We investigate guide-field magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration in relativistic pair plasmas with three-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a kinetic-scale current sheet in a periodic geometry at low magnetizations.…
Fully kinetic two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are used to study electron acceleration at high-Mach-number nonrelativistic perpendicular shocks. SNR shocks are mediated by the Weibel instability which is excited because of an…
The discovery of rapid synchrotron gamma-ray flares above 100 MeV from the Crab Nebula has attracted new interest in alternative particle acceleration mechanisms in pulsar wind nebulae. Diffuse shock-acceleration fails to explain the flares…
Electron heating/acceleration in the foreshock, by which electrons may be energized beyond thermal energies prior to encountering the bow shock, is very important for the bow shock dynamics. And then these electrons would be more easily…
The Earth's magnetotail, located on the night side of the magnetosphere, is a dynamic region where magnetic field energy is released and converted into plasma heating, particle acceleration, and kinetic energy through magnetic reconnection.…
The first-order Fermi acceleration of electrons requires an injection of electrons into a mildly relativistic energy range. However, the mechanism of injection has remained a puzzle both in theory and observation. We present direct evidence…
(Abridged) We have recently proposed that the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) observed above the GZK limit could be mostly protons accelerated in reconnection sites just above the magnetosphere of newborn millisecond pulsars…
There are different versions of collisions of two particles near black holes with unbound energy $E_{c.m.}$ in the centre of mass frame. The so-called BSW effect arises when a slow fine-tuned "critical" particle hits a rapid "usual" one. We…
Particle acceleration at plasma shocks appears to be ubiquitous in the universe, spanning systems in the heliosphere, supernova remnants, and relativistic jets in distant active galaxies and gamma-ray bursts. This review addresses some of…
The Crab Nebula is one of the most efficient accelerators in the Galaxy and the only galactic source showing direct evidence of PeV particles. In spite of this, the physical process behind such effective acceleration is still a deep…
Magnetic reconnection in relativistic collisionless plasmas can accelerate particles and power high-energy emission in various astrophysical systems. Whereas most previous studies focused on relativistic reconnection in pair plasmas, less…
A simple formula is obtained for coupling electrons in a complex system to the electromagnetic field. It includes the effect of intra-atomic excitations and nuclear motion, and can be applied in. e.g., first-principles-based simulations of…
Strong magnetically dominated Alfv\'enic turbulence is an efficient engine of non-thermal particle acceleration in a relativistic collisionless plasma. We argue that in the limit of strong magnetization, the type of energy distribution…
Magnetic reconnection -- a fundamental plasma physics process, where magnetic field lines of opposite polarity annihilate -- is invoked in astrophysical plasmas as a powerful mechanism of nonthermal particle acceleration, able to explain…
We present the first three-dimensional fully kinetic electromagnetic relativistic particle-in-cell simulations of the collision of two interpenetrating plasma shells. The highly accurate plasma-kinetic "particle-in-cell" (with the total of…
The acceleration of ultra high energy cosmic rays is conjectured to occur through various interactions with the electromagnetic fields in different astrophysical objects, like magnetic matter clumps, besides the well-known shock and…
Experimental studies of fission induced in relativistic nuclear collisions show a systematic enhancement of the excitation energy of the primary fragments by a factor of ~ 2, before their decay by fission and other secondary fragments.…
We discuss the excitation of sterile neutrinos in the early universe using general quantum kinetic equations, which also incorporate a possible primordial magnetic field $B$. We find a new contribution to the excitation propability, which…