Perpendicular relativistic shocks in magnetized pair plasma
Year: 2018
Authors: Plotnikov I., Grassi A., Grech M.
Autors Affiliation: Univ Toulouse, CNRS, Inst Rech Astrophys & Planetol, 9 Ave Colonel Roche,BP 44346, F-31028 Toulouse, France
Show more [ 2 ] Princeton Univ, Dept Astrophys Sci, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544 USA
Show more [ 3 ] Univ Paris Saclay, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CEA, CNRS,Ecole Polytech,LULI, F-75252 Paris 05, France
Show more [ 4 ] Univ Pisa, Dipartimento Fis Enr Fermi, Largo Bruno Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
Show more [ 5 ] CNR, INO, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
Show more [ 6 ] UPMC Univ Paris 06, Univ Paris Saclay, CEA, CNRS,Ecole Polytech,LULI, F-91128 Palaiseau, France
Abstract: Perpendicular relativistic (gamma(0)=10) shocks in magnetized pair plasmas are investigated using two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. A systematic survey, from unmagnetized to strongly magnetized shocks, is presented accurately capturing the transition from Weibel-mediated to magnetic-reflection-shaped shocks. This transition is found to occur for upstream flow magnetizations 10(-3) < sigma < 10(-2) at which a strong perpendicular net current is observed in the precursor, driving the so-called current-filamentation instability. The global structure of the shock and shock formation time are discussed. The magnetohydrodynamics shock jump conditions are found in good agreement with the numerical results, except for 10(-4) < sigma < 10(-2) where a deviation up to 10 per cent is observed. The particle precursor length converges towards the Larmor radius of particles injected in the upstream magnetic field at intermediate magnetizations. For sigma > 10(-2), it leaves place to a purely electromagnetic precursor following from the strong emission of electromagnetic waves at the shock front. Particle acceleration is found to be efficient in weakly magnetized perpendicular shocks in agreement with previous works, and is fully suppressed for sigma > 10(-2). Diffusive shock acceleration is observed only in weakly magnetized shocks, while a dominant contribution of shock drift acceleration is evidenced at intermediate magnetizations. The spatial diffusion coefficients are extracted from the simulations allowing for a deeper insight into the self-consistent particle kinematics and scale with the square of the particle energy in weakly magnetized shocks. These results have implications for particle acceleration in the internal shocks of active galactic nucleus jets and in the termination shocks of pulsar wind nebulae.
Journal/Review: MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Volume: 477 (4) Pages from: 5238 to: 5260
KeyWords: acceleration of particles; plasmas; relativistic processes; shock waves; DOI: 10.1093/mnras/sty979Citations: 37data from “WEB OF SCIENCE” (of Thomson Reuters) are update at: 2024-04-14References taken from IsiWeb of Knowledge: (subscribers only)Connecting to view paper tab on IsiWeb: Click hereConnecting to view citations from IsiWeb: Click here