Related papers: Steady-State Electrostatic Layers from Weibel Inst…
We discuss 3D simulations of relativistic collisionless shocks in electron-positron pair plasmas using the particle-in-cell (PIC) method. The shock structure is mainly controlled by the shock's magnetization ("sigma" parameter). We…
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…
A two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation is performed to investigate weakly magnetized perpendicular shocks with a magnetization parameter of 6 x 10^-5, which is equivalent to a high Alfv\'en Mach number M_A of ~130. It is shown that…
Fermi acceleration can develop efficiently at relativistic collisionless shock waves provided the upstream (unshocked) plasma is weakly magnetized. At low magnetization, the large size of the shock precursor indeed provides enough time for…
We examine with particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations how a parallel shock in pair plasma reacts to upstream waves, which are driven by escaping downstream particles. Initially, the shock is sustained in the two-dimensional simulation by a…
Laser-driven collisonless electrostatic shock formation and the subsequent ion acceleration have been studied in near critical density plasmas. Particle-in-cell simulations show that both the speed of laser-driven collisionless…
We numerically investigate the process of generating magnetic fields from temperature anisotropy of electrons in collisionless initially uniform plasmas. We use a fully kinetic modeling and compare it against a hybrid modeling which treats…
The formation of ion-Weibel-mediated collisionless shocks (IW-CSs) in ultraintense-laser-produced counter-streaming plasmas is investigated using particle-in-cell simulations. Analysis of the underlying microphysics reveals that a…
We investigate ion-scale kinetic plasma instabilities at the collisionless shock using linear theory and nonlinear Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations. We focus on the Alfv\'en-ion-cyclotron (AIC), mirror, and Weibel instabilities, which are…
Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are…
Relativistic radiation mediated shocks (RRMS) likely form in prodigious cosmic explosions. The structure and emission of such shocks is regulated by copious production of electron-positron pairs inside the shock transition layer. It has…
The current filamentation instability, which generically arises in the counterstreaming of supersonic plasma flows, is known for its ability to convert the free energy associated with anisotropic momentum distributions into kinetic-scale…
Hot-cold ablative mixing plasmas are ubiquitous in astrophysical and laboratory systems, where a cold/dense plasma is roughly in pressure balance with a hot/dilute plasma. Examples include the plasma thermal quench during major disruptions…
Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations have shown that relativistic collisionless shocks mediated by the Weibel instability accelerate about 1% of incoming particles, while the majority are transmitted through the shock and become thermalized.…
We present results from three-dimensional particle simulations of collisionless shocks with relativistic counter-streaming ion-electron plasmas. Particles are followed over many skin depths downstream of the shock. Open boundaries allow the…
We examine with a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation the collision of two equally dense clouds of cold pair plasma. The clouds interpenetrate until instabilities set in, which heat up the plasma and trigger the formation of a pair of shocks.…
Collisionless tearing instability with a power-law distribution function in a relativistic pair plasma with a guide field is studied. When the current sheet is supported by plasma pressure, the tearing mode is suppressed as the particle…
Density filamentation has been observed in many beam-plasma simulations and experiments. Because current filamentation is a pure transverse mode, charge density filamentation cannot be produced directly by the current filamentation process.…
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…
Collisionless shocks, that is shocks mediated by electromagnetic processes, are customary in space physics and in astrophysics. They are to be found in a great variety of objects and environments: magnetospheric and heliospheric shocks,…