arXiv subjects

M E Dieckmann

Publications and source records attributed to M E Dieckmann.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Particle-in-cell simulation of a mildly relativistic collision of an electron-ion plasma carrying a quasi-parallel magnetic field: Electron acceleration and magnetic field amplification at supernova shocks

Plasma processes close to SNR shocks result in the amplification of magnetic fields and in the acceleration of electrons, injecting them into the diffusive acceleration mechanism. The acceleration of electrons and the B field amplification by the collision of two plasma clouds, each consisting of electrons and ions, at a speed of 0.5c is investigated. A quasi-parallel guiding magnetic field, a cloud density ratio of 10 and a plasma temperature of 25 keV are considered. A quasi-planar shock forms at the front of the dense plasma cloud. It is mediated by a circularly left-hand polarized electromagnetic wave with an electric field component along the guiding magnetic field. Its propagation direction is close to that of the guiding field and orthogonal to the collision boundary. It has a low frequency and a wavelength that equals several times the ion inertial length, which would be indicative of a dispersive Alfven wave close to the ion cyclotron resonance frequency of the left-handed mode (ion whistler), provided that the frequency is appropriate. However, it moves with the super-alfvenic plasma collision speed, suggesting that it is an Alfven precursor or a nonlinear MHD wave such as a Short Large-Amplitude Magnetic Structure (SLAMS). The growth of the magnetic amplitude of this wave to values well in excess of those of the quasi-parallel guiding field and of the filamentation modes results in a quasi-perpendicular shock. We present evidence for the instability of this mode to a four wave interaction. The waves developing upstream of the dense cloud give rise to electron acceleration ahead of the collision boundary. Energy equipartition between the ions and the electrons is established at the shock and the electrons are accelerated to relativistic speeds.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

The filamentation instability driven by warm electron beams: Statistics and electric field generation

The filamentation instability of counterpropagating symmetric beams of electrons is examined with 1D and 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, which are oriented orthogonally to the beam velocity vector. The beams are uniform, warm and their relative speed is mildly relativistic. The dynamics of the filaments is examined in 2D and it is confirmed that their characteristic size increases linearly in time. Currents orthogonal to the beam velocity vector are driven through the magnetic and electric fields in the simulation plane. The fields are tied to the filament boundaries and the scale size of the flow-aligned and the perpendicular currents are thus equal. It is confirmed that the electrostatic and the magnetic forces are equally important, when the filamentation instability saturates in 1D. Their balance is apparently the saturation mechanism of the filamentation instability for our initial conditions. The electric force is relatively weaker but not negligible in the 2D simulation, where the electron temperature is set higher to reduce the computational cost. The magnetic pressure gradient is the principal source of the electrostatic field, when and after the instability saturates in the 1D simulation and in the 2D simulation.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2009

PIC simulations of the Thermal Anisotropy-Driven Weibel Instability: Field growth and phase space evolution upon saturation

The Weibel instability is investigated with PIC simulations of an initially unmagnetized and spatially uniform electron plasma. This instability, which is driven by the thermally anisotropic electron distribution, generates electromagnetic waves with wave vectors perpendicular to the direction of the higher temperature. Two simulations are performed: A 2D simulation, with a simulation plane that includes the direction of higher temperature, demonstrates that the wave spectrum is initially confined to one dimension. The electric field components in the simulation plane generated by the instability equalize at the end of the simulation through a secondary instability. A 1D PIC simulation with a high resolution, where the simulation box is aligned with the wave vectors of the growing waves, reveals details of the electron phase space distribution and permits a comparison of the magnetic and electric fields when the instability saturates. It is shown that the electrostatic field is driven by the magnetic pressure gradient and that it and the magnetic field redistribute the electrons in space.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

Simulation study of the filamentation of counter-streaming beams of the electrons and positrons in plasmas

The filamentation instability driven by two spatially uniform and counter-streaming beams of charged particles in plasmas is modelled by a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. Each beam consists of the electrons and positrons. The four species are equally dense and they have the same temperature. The one-dimensional simulation direction is orthogonal to the beam velocity vector. The magnetic field grows spontaneously and rearranges the particles in space, such that the distributions of the electrons of one beam and the positrons of the second beam match. The simulation demonstrates that as a result no electrostatic field is generated by the magnetic field through its magnetic pressure gradient prior to its saturation. This electrostatic field would be repulsive at the centres of the filaments and limit the maximum charge and current density. The filaments of electrons and positrons in this simulation reach higher charge and current densities than in one with no positrons. The oscillations of the magnetic field strength induced by the magnetically trapped particles result in an oscillatory magnetic pressure gradient force. The latter interplays with the statistical fluctuations in the particle density and it probably enforces a charge separation, by which electrostatic waves grow after the filamentation instability has saturated.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2008

PIC simulation of a strong double layer in a nonrelativistic plasma flow: Electron acceleration to ultrarelativistic speeds

Two charge- and current neutral plasma beams are modelled with a one-dimensional PIC simulation. The beams are uniform and unbounded. The relative speed between both beams is 0.4c. One beam is composed of electrons and protons and one out of protons and negatively charged oxygen (dust). All species have the temperature 9 keV. A Buneman instability develops between the electrons of the first beam and the protons of the second beam. The wave traps the electrons, which form plasmons. The plasmons couple energy into the ion acoustic waves, which trap the protons of the second beam. A proton phase space hole grows, which develops through its interaction with the oxygen and the heated electrons into a rarefaction pulse. This pulse drives a strong ion acoustic double layer, which accelerates a beam of electrons to about 50 MeV, which is comparable to the proton kinetic energy. The proton distribution eventually evolves into an electrostatic shock. Beams of charged particles moving at such speeds may occur in the foreshock of supernova remnant shocks. This double layer is thus potentially relevant for the electron acceleration (injection) into the diffusive shock acceleration by supernova remnants shocks.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

The saturation of the electron beam filamentation instability by the self-generated magnetic field and magnetic pressure gradient-driven electric field

Two counter-propagating cool and equally dense electron beams are modelled with particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The electron beam filamentation instability is examined in one spatial dimension. The box length resolves one pair of current filaments. A small, a medium-sized and a large filament are considered and compared. The magnetic field amplitude at the saturation time of the filamentation instability is proportional to the filament size. It is demonstrated, that the force on the electrons imposed by the electrostatic field, which develops during the nonlinear stage of the instability, oscillates around a mean value that equals the magnetic pressure gradient force. The forces acting on the electrons due to the electrostatic and the magnetic field have a similar strength. The electrostatic field reduces the confining force close to the stable equilibrium of each filament and increases it farther away. The confining potential is not sinusoidal, as assumed by the magnetic trapping model, and it permits an overlap of current filaments (plasmons) with an opposite flow direction. The scaling of the saturation amplitude of the magnetic field with the filament size observed here thus differs from that expected from the magnetic trapping model. The latter nevertheless gives a good estimate for the magnetic saturation amplitude. The increase of the peak electrostatic and magnetic field amplitudes with the filament size implies, that the electrons heat up more and that the spatial modulation of their mean speed along the beam flow direction increases with the filament size.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2006

Phase speed of electrostatic waves: The critical parameter for efficient electron surfing acceleration

Particle acceleration by means of non-linear plasma wave interactions is of great topical interest. Accordingly, in this paper we focus on the electron surfing process. Self-consistent kinetic simulations, using both relativistic Vlasov and PIC (Particle In Cell) approaches, show here that electrons can be accelerated to highly relativistic energies (up to 100 m_e c^2) if the phase speed of the electrostatic wave is mildly relativistic (0.6c to 0.9c for the magnetic field strengths considered). The acceleration is strong because of relativistic stabilisation of the nonlinearly saturated electrostatic wave, seen in both relativistic Vlasov and PIC simulations. An inverse power law momentum distribution can arise for the most strongly accelerated electrons. These results are of relevance to observed rapid changes in the radio synchrotron emission intensities from microquasars, gamma ray bursts and other astrophysical objects that require rapid acceleration mechanisms for electrons.

astro-ph↗