Electron acceleration in a nonrelativistic shock with very high Alfvén Mach number.

[ABSTRACT] Electron acceleration associated with various plasma kinetic instabilities in a nonrelativistic shock with very high Alfvén Mach number (M(A)~45) is revealed by means of a two-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulation. Electromagnetic (ion Weibel) and electrostatic (ion-acoustic and Buneman) instabilities are strongly activated at the same time in different regions of the two-dimensional shock structure. Relativistic electrons are quickly produced predominantly by the shock surfing mechanism with the Buneman instability at the leading edge of the foot. The energy spectrum has a high-energy tail exceeding the upstream ion kinetic energy accompanying the main thermal population. This gives a favorable condition for the ion-acoustic instability at the shock front, which in turn results in additional energization. The large-amplitude ion Weibel instability generates current sheets in the foot, implying another dissipation mechanism via magnetic reconnection in a three-dimensional shock structure in the very-high-M(A) regime.

https://opac.ll.chiba-u.jp/da/curator/104420/

https://opac.ll.chiba-u.jp/da/curator/104420/PhysRevLett.111.215003.pdf

American Physical Society

学術雑誌論文

10797114

Physical review letters

111

21

215003-1

215003-5

2013-11-22

10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.215003

publisher

PubMed 収録論文 （PMC除く）

Copyright 2013 American Physical Society