The collisionless hydrodynamics: On the nonexistence of collisionless shocks

Andrei Gruzinov

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arXiv · 2501.17341

The collisionless hydrodynamics: On the nonexistence of collisionless shocks

Andrei Gruzinov

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Abstract

Collisionless shocks, essential for astrophysics, perhaps do not exist as statistically stationary solutions. If so, any quantitative statement about a collisionless shock should be qualified by the age of the shock. A theoretical description of the upstream of the 1+1 dimensional electrostatic collisionless shock is developed -- collisionless hydrodynamics. Peculiarities of collisionless hydrodynamics prevent a shock formation when a piston is driven into cold plasma. An exact self-similar solution is found instead; the spatial extent of the solution grows linearly in time. Direct numerical simulations of plasma kinetics in 1+1 dimensions confirm the hydrodynamic result -- a statistically steady collisionless shock doesn't exist. Instead, at each fixed time, there is a continuous succession in space of marginally stable velocity distribution functions. The spatial support of this continuous succession grows linearly in time.

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Andrei Gruzinov. 2025-01-28. The collisionless hydrodynamics: On the nonexistence of collisionless shocks. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.17341

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