Related papers: Nonlinear shock acceleration beyond the Bohm limit
The formation of collisionless shock fronts is an ubiquitous phenomenon in space plasma environments. In the solar wind shocks might accompany coronal mass ejections, while even more violent events, such as supernovae, produce shock fronts…
Strong astrophysical shocks, diffusively accelerating cosmic rays (CR) ought to develop CR precursors. The length of such precursor $L_{p}$ is believed to be set by the ratio of the CR mean free path $\lambda$ to the shock speed, i.e.,…
To undergo diffusive shock acceleration, electrons need to be pre-accelerated to increase their energies by several orders of magnitude, else their gyro-radii are smaller than the finite width of the shock. In oblique shocks, where the…
We present the non-linear theory of shock acceleration applied to SNRs expanding into partially neutral plasma. Using this theory we show how the Balmer lines detected from young SNRs can be used to test the efficiency of shocks in the…
Supernova remnants (SNRs) have long been assumed to be the source of cosmic rays (CRs) up to the "knee" of the CR spectrum at 10^15 eV, accelerating particles to relativistic energies in their blast waves by the process of diffusive shock…
Collisionless shock waves, found in supernova remnants, interstellar, stellar, and planetary environments, and laboratories, are one of nature's most powerful particle accelerators. This study combines in situ satellite measurements with…
We determine the spectrum of particles accelerated at shocks with arbitrary speed and arbitrary scattering properties for different choices of the equation of state of the downstream plasma. More specifically we consider the effect of…
The sources of cosmic rays between the knee and the ankle are still debated. The Galactic wind and its termination shock have been proposed to contribute to this transition between Galactic and extragalactic origin, but another possibility…
While supernova remnants (SNRs) have long been considered prime candidates for the source of cosmic rays, at least to energies up to ~10^14 eV, it is only over the past several years that direct evidence of such energetic particles in SNRs…
We use 2D and 3D hybrid (kinetic ions - fluid electrons) simulations to investigate particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification at non-relativistic astrophysical shocks. We show that diffusive shock acceleration operates for…
We review the basic features of particle acceleration theory around collisionless shocks in supernova remnants (SNRs). We show how non linear effects induced by the back reaction of accelerated particles onto the shock dynamics are of…
Nonlinear kinetic theory of cosmic ray (CR) acceleration in supernova remnants is employed to calculate CR spectra. The magnetic field in SNRs is assumed to be significantly amplified by the efficiently accelerating nuclear CR component. It…
Electron acceleration to non-thermal energies in low Mach number (M<5) shocks is revealed by radio and X-ray observations of galaxy clusters and solar flares, but the electron acceleration mechanism remains poorly understood. Diffusive…
We undertake an investigation of particle acceleration in the context of non-linear electrodynamics. We deduce the maximum energy that an electron can gain in a non-linear density wave in a magnetised plasma, and we show that an electron…
Recent precise measurements of cosmic ray (CR) spectra show that the energy distribution of protons is softer than those of heavier nuclei, and there are spectral hardenings for all nuclear compositions above $\sim$200 GV. Models proposed…
The maximum energy to which cosmic rays can be accelerated at weakly-magnetised ultra-relativistic shocks is investigated. We demonstrate that for such shocks, in which the scattering of energetic particles is mediated exclusively by ion…
We investigate the interaction of nonthermal ions (protons and nuclei) accelerated in an ultrarelativistic blastwave with the pre-existing magnetic field of the medium into which the blastwave propagates. While particle acceleration…
The cosmic-ray streaming instability creates strong magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in the precursor of a SN shock. The level of turbulence determines the maximum energy of cosmic-ray particles accelerated by the diffusive shock acceleration…
Galactic cosmic ray (CR) acceleration to the knee in the spectrum at a few PeV is only possible if the magnetic field ahead of a supernova remnant (SNR) shock is strongly amplified by CR escaping the SNR. A model formulated in terms of the…
We present a model for the creation of non-thermal particles via diffusive shock acceleration in a colliding-wind binary. Our model accounts for the oblique nature of the global shocks bounding the wind-wind collision region and the finite…