Related papers: Relativistic Collisionless Shocks in Inhomogeneous…
High-amplitude, chaotic/turbulent electromagnetic fluctuations are ubiquitous in high-energy-density laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, where they can be excited by various kinetic-streaming and/or anisotropy-driven instabilities, such…
We discuss the phenomenon of energization of relativistic charged particles in three-dimensional (3D) incompressible MHD turbulence and the diffusive properties of the motion of the same particles. We show that the random electric field…
Gamma ray bursts are among the most energetic events in the known universe. A highly relativistic fireball is ejected. In most cases the burst itself is followed by an afterglow, emitted under deceleration as the fireball plunges through…
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…
We investigate the spatial distribution of charged particles accelerated by non-relativistic oblique fast collisionless shocks using three-dimensional test-particle simulations. We find that the density of low-energy particles exhibit a…
Collisionless shocks are complex nonlinear structures that are not yet fully understood. In particular, the interaction between these shocks and the particles they accelerate remains elusive. Based on an instability analysis that relates…
The paper is devoted to the prospects of using the laser radiation interaction with plasmas in the laboratory relativistic astrophysics context. We discuss the dimensionless parameters characterizing the processes in the laser and…
The properties of collisionless shocks are frequently assessed in the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model. Yet, in a collisionless plasma, an ambient magnetic field can sustain a stable anisotropy in the upstream or the downstream, resulting…
Charged plasma particles form an anisotropic counter-streaming distribution at the front of a shock. In the near- and ultra-relativistic regimes, Weibel (or two-stream) instability produces near-equipartition, chaotic, small-scale magnetic…
Non-relativistic collisionless shock waves are widespread in space and astrophysical plasmas and are known as efficient particle accelerators. However, our understanding of collisionless shocks, including their structure and the mechanisms…
Collisionless shocks are frequently analyzed using the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) formalism, even though MHD assumes a small mean free path. Yet, isotropy of pressure, fruit of binary collisions and assumed in MHD, may not apply in…
We present the first collisionless realization of two-dimensional axisymmetric black hole accretion consistent with a persistent magnetically arrested disk state. The accretion flow, consisting of an ion-electron disk plasma combined with…
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…
We present a theory of ultrarelativistic collisionless shocks based on the relativistic kinetic two-stream instability. We demonstrate that the shock front is unstable to the generation of small-scale, randomly tangled magnetic fields.…
As a shock front interacts with turbulence, it develops corrugation which induces outgoing wave modes in the downstream plasma. For a fast shock wave, the incoming wave modes can either be fast magnetosonic waves originating from…
Collisionless fast-magnetosonic shocks are often treated as smooth, planar boundaries, yet observations point to organized corrugation of the shock surface. A plausible driver is upstream turbulence. Broadband fluctuations arriving at the…
Plasma instabilities can be encountered in many branches of physics. This work focuses on relativistic plasmas with applications in theoretical astrophysics and particle accelerator physics. Even though these fields seem to be unrelated the…
The physics of collisionless relativistic shocks with a moderate magnetization is presented. Micro-physics is relevant to explain the most energetic radiative phenomena of Nature, namely that of the termination shock of Gamma Ray Bursts. A…
Observations of gamma-ray burst afterglows suggest that the correlation length of magnetic field fluctuations downstream of relativistic non-magnetized collisionless shocks grows with distance from the shock to scales much larger than the…
Collisionless plasma shocks are a common feature of many space and astrophysical systems and are sources of high-energy particles and non-thermal emission, channeling as much as 20\% of the shock's energy into non-thermal particles. The…