Related papers: Nonthermal electron acceleration in turbulent post…
Where and how flares efficiently accelerate charged particles remains an unresolved question. Recent studies revealed that a "magnetic bottle" structure, which forms near the bottom of a large-scale reconnection current sheet above the…
The mechanism of diffusive Fermi acceleration at collisionless plasma shock waves is widely invoked in astrophysics to explain the appearance of non-thermal particle populations in a variety of environments, including sites of cosmic ray…
We investigate the physics of particle acceleration at non-relativistic shocks exploiting two different and complementary approaches, namely a semi-analytic modeling of cosmic-ray modified shocks and large hybrid (kinetic protons/fluid…
Context. The mechanisms regulating the transport and energization of charged particles in space and astrophysical plasmas are still debated. Plasma turbulence is known to be a powerful particle accelerator. Large-scale structures, including…
We study a model of particle acceleration coupled with an MHD model of magnetic reconnection in unstable twisted coronal loops. The kink instability leads to the formation of helical currents with strong parallel electric fields resulting…
Understanding nonthermal particle generation, transport, and escape in solar flares requires detailed quantification of the particle evolution in the realistic 3D domain where the flare takes place. Rather surprisingly, apart of standard…
Strong non-relativistic shocks are known to accelerate particles up to relativistic energies. However, for Diffusive Shock Acceleration electrons must have a highly suprathermal energy, implying a need for very efficient pre-acceleration.…
Density inhomogeneities are ubiquitous in space and astrophysical plasmas, particularly at magnetic reconnection sites, shock fronts, and within compressible turbulence. The gradients associated with these inhomogeneous plasma regions serve…
A fast-mode shock can form in the front of reconnection outflows and has been suggested as a promising site for particle acceleration in solar flares. Recent development of magnetic reconnection has shown that numerous plasmoids can be…
Using the "enthalpy-based thermal evolution of loops" (EBTEL) model, we investigate the hydrodynamics of the plasma in a flaring coronal loop in which heat conduction is limited by turbulent scattering of the electrons that transport the…
Simulations and observations of the low-latitude magnetosphere-magnetosheath boundary layer indicate that the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) drives vortex structures that enhance plasma mixing and magnetic reconnection, influencing…
Stochastic acceleration of electrons and protons by waves propagating parallel to the large scale magnetic fields of magnetized plasmas is studied with emphasis on the feasibility of accelerating particles from a thermal background to…
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…
In turbulent magnetized plasmas, charged particles can be accelerated to high energies through their interactions with the turbulent motions. As they do so, they draw energy from the turbulence, possibly up to the point where they start…
The collision of two expanding plasma clouds is investigated, emphasizing instabilities and electron energization in the plasma mixing layer. This work is directly relevant to laboratory experiments with explosively-created laser or z-pinch…
Building on recent progress in the understanding of particle transport in magnetized plasmas, we derive a scaling law for the formation of nonthermal spectral tails in mildly and strongly magnetized turbulent environments. We validate this…
We model nanoflare heating of extrapolated active-region coronal loops via the acceleration of electrons and protons in Harris-type current sheets. The kinetic energy of the accelerated particles is estimated using semi-analytical and…
We use 2.5-D electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation code to investigate the acceleration of electrons in solar coronal holes through the interaction of Alfv\'en waves with an interplume region. The interplume is modeled by a cavity…
Instabilities in oscillating loops are believed to be essential for dissipating the wave energy and heating the solar coronal plasma. Our aim is to study the development of the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability in an oscillating loop that…
The stochastic acceleration of subrelativistic electrons from a background plasma is studied in order to find a possible explanation of the hard X-ray (HXR) emission detected from the Coma cluster. We calculate the necessary energy supply…