Related papers: Compressive Structures in the Foreshock of Collisi…
Shock-generated transients, such as hot flow anomalies (HFAs), upstream of planetary bow shocks, play a critical role in electron acceleration. Using multi-mission data from NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) and ESA's Cluster missions,…
The course of non-thermal electron ejection in relativistic unmagnetized electron-ion shocks is investigated by performing self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations. The shocks are excited through the injection of relativistic jet into…
Interplanetary (IP) shocks efficiently modify the proton temperature anisotropy of the solar wind. Analyzing ~800 IP shocks observed by the Wind spacecraft from 1997-2024, we present a statistical study of upstream and downstream proton…
We use fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations with unprecedentedly large transverse box sizes to study particle acceleration in weakly-magnetized mildly relativistic shocks traveling at a velocity $\approx 0.75c$ and a Mach number of…
We combine experiments, large scale simulations and continuum models to study the emergence of coherent structures in a suspension of magnetically driven microrollers sedimented near a floor. Collective hydrodynamic effects are predominant…
In this thesis different numerical methods, as well as applications of the methods to a number of current problems in relativistic astrophysics, are presented. In the first part the theoretical foundation and numerical implementation of a…
We show that the Weibel-mediated collisionless shocks are driven at non-relativistic propagation speed (0.1c < V < 0.45c) in unmagnetized electron-ion plasmas by performing two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. It is shown that the…
A heliospheric termination shock (HTS) surrounds our solar system at approximately 100 astronomical units from the Sun, where the expanding solar wind (SW) is compressed and heated before encountering the interstellar medium.…
The acceleration of interstellar pick-up ions as well as solar wind species has been observed at a multitude of interplanetary (IP) shocks by different spacecraft. The efficiency of injection of the pick-up ion component differs from that…
Foreshock transients upstream of the Earth's bow shock, such as foreshock bubbles and hot flow anomalies, are often characterized by reduced-density cores and strong plasma fluctuations. These conditions provide environments where…
Recent observations in the quasi-parallel bow shock by the MMS spacecraft show rapid heating and acceleration of ions up to an energy of about 100 keV. It is demonstrated that a prominent acceleration mechanism is the nonlinear interaction…
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…
We present results from a Monte Carlo simulation of a parallel collisionless shock undergoing particle acceleration. Our simulation, which contains parameterized scattering and a particular thermal leakage injection model, calculates the…
Widespread solar energetic particle (SEP) events remain poorly understood phenomena in space weather. These events are often linked to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and their shocks, but the mechanisms governing their global particle…
On 15 May 2005, a huge interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) was observed near Earth. It triggered one of the most intense geomagnetic storms of solar cycle 23 (Dst peak = -263 nT). This structure has been associated with the…
Ab-initio numerical study of collisionless shocks in electron-ion unmagnetized plasmas is performed with fully relativistic particle in cell simulations. The main properties of the shock are shown, focusing on the implications for particle…
Context. While the shapes of many observed bow shocks can be reproduced by simple astrosphere models, more elaborate approaches have recently been used to explain differing observable structures. Aims. By placing perturbations of an…
Shock parameters at Earth's bow shock in rare instances can approach the Mach numbers predicted at supernova remnants. We present our analysis of a high Alfv\'en Mach number ($M_A= 27$) shock utilizing multipoint measurements from the…
We study a relativistic collisionless electron-positron shock propagating into an unmagnetized ambient medium using 2D particle-in-cell simulations of unprecedented duration and size. The shock generates intermittent magnetic structures of…
We propose that galactic shocks propagating through interstellar density fluctuations provide a mechanism for the intermittent replenishment, or "pumping," of the supersonic motions and internal density enhancements observed pervasively…