Related papers: Long-term Evolution of Relativistic Unmagnetized C…
Collisionless shocks tend to send charged particles into the upstream, driving electric currents through the plasma. Using kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate how the background thermal plasma neutralizes such currents in…
We discuss electron acceleration and heating during collisionless magnetic reconnection by using the results of implicit kinetic simulations of Harris current sheets. We consider and compare electron dynamics in plasmas with different \beta…
For parameters that are applicable to the conditions at young supernova remnants, we present results of 2D3V particle-in-cell simulations of a non-relativistic plasma shock with a large-scale perpendicular magnetic field inclined at 45-deg…
Particle in cell (PIC) simulations of collisionless magnetic reconnection are presented that demonstrate that the electron dissipation region develops a distinct two-scale structure along the outflow direction. The length of the electron…
Using a three dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell code we have performed numerical experiments of plasma shells colliding at relativistic velocities. Such scenarios are found in many astrophysical objects e.g. the relativistic outflow…
A nonresonant cosmic-ray-current-driven instability may operate in the shock precursors of young supernova remnants and be responsible for magnetic-field amplification, plasma heating and turbulence. Earlier simulations demonstrated…
We conduct a multiparametric study of driven magnetic reconnection relevant to recent experiments on colliding magnetized laser produced plasmas using particle-in-cell simulations. Varying the background plasma density, plasma resistivity,…
We perform particle-in-cell simulations of perpendicular nonrelativistic collisionless shocks to study electron heating and pre-acceleration for parameters that permit extrapolation to the conditions at young supernova remnants. Our…
The spontaneous evolution of magnetic reconnection in generalized situations (with thermodynamic asymmetry regarding the current sheet and magnetic shear) is investigated using two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation. We focus on the…
Perpendicular relativistic ($\gamma_0=10$) shocks in magnetized pair plasmas are investigated using two dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. A systematic survey, from unmagnetized to strongly magnetized shocks, is presented accurately…
Collisionless shocks play an important role in space and astrophysical plasmas by irreversibly converting the energy of the incoming supersonic plasma flows into other forms, including plasma heat, particle acceleration, and electromagnetic…
The expansion of two circular rarefaction waves in vacuum or in a thin ambient plasma is examined with particle-in-cell simulations that resolve two spatial dimensions. In the simulation with no ambient plasma, the rarefaction waves…
Two-dimensional Particle-In-Cell simulations are used to explore collisionless shock acceleration in the corona plasma surrounding the compressed core of an inertial confinement fusion pellet. We show that an intense laser pulse interacting…
The plasma dynamics resulting from the simultaneous impact, of two equal, ultra-intense laser pulses, in two spatially separated spots, onto a dense target is studied via particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The simulations show that…
We use large hybrid (kinetic protons-fluid electrons) simulations to investigate the transport of energetic particles in self-consistent electromagnetic configurations of collisionless shocks. In previous papers of this series, we showed…
We discuss magnetic field generation by the proton Weibel instability in relativistic shocks, a situation that applies to the external shocks in the fireball model for Gamma-ray Bursts, and possibly also to internal shocks. Our analytical…
We consider the recently discovered \emph{pair-Alfv\'en shock wave} occurring in collisionless electron-positron plasmas. We perform a series of Particle-In-Cell studies in one and two dimensions in order to determine the stability…
Collisionless shocks generated by two colliding relativistic electron-positron plasma shells are studied using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Shocks are mediated by the Weibel instability (WI), and the kinetic energy of the fastest…
In magnetized astrophysical outflows, the dissipation of field energy into particle energy via magnetic reconnection is often invoked to explain the observed non-thermal signatures. By means of two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell…
A theoretical analysis for astrophysics-oriented laser-matter interaction experiments in the presence of a strong ambient magnetic field is presented. It is shown that the plasma collision in the ambient magnetic field implies significant…