TY - JOUR A1 - Vafin, Sergei A1 - Riazantseva, Maria A1 - Pohl, Martin T1 - Coulomb collisions as a candidate for temperature anisotropy constraints in the solar wind JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters N2 - Many solar wind observations at 1 au indicate that the proton (as well as electron) temperature anisotropy is limited. The data distribution in the (A(a), beta(a),(parallel to))-plane have a rhombic-shaped form around beta(a),(parallel to) similar to 1. The boundaries of the temperature anisotropy at beta(a),(parallel to) > 1 can be well explained by the threshold conditions of the mirror (whistler) and oblique proton (electron) firehose instabilities in a bi-Maxwellian plasma, whereas the physical mechanism of the similar restriction at beta(a),(parallel to) < 1 is still under debate. One possible option is Coulomb collisions, which we revisit in the current work. We derive the relaxation rate nu(A)(aa) of the temperature anisotropy in a bi-Maxwellian plasma that we then study analytically and by observed proton data from WIND. We found that nu(A)(pp) increases toward small beta(p),(parallel to) < 1. We matched the data distribution in the (A(p), beta(p),(parallel to))-plane with the constant contour nu(A)(pp) = 2.8 . 10(-6) s(-1), corresponding to the minimum value for collisions to play a role. This contour fits rather well the left boundary of the rhombic-shaped data distribution in the (A(p), beta(p),(parallel to))-plane. Thus, Coulomb collisions are an interesting candidate for explaining the limitations of the temperature anisotropy in the solar wind with small beta(a),(parallel to) < 1 at 1 au. KW - instabilities KW - plasmas KW - scattering KW - solar wind KW - Sun: heliosphere Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aafb11 SN - 2041-8205 SN - 2041-8213 VL - 871 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bohdan, Artem A1 - Niemiec, Jacek A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Matsumoto, Yosuke A1 - Amano, Takanobu A1 - Hoshino, Masahiro T1 - Kinetic Simulations of Nonrelativistic Perpendicular Shocks of Young Supernova Remnants BT - I. Electron Shock-surfing Acceleration JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - Electron injection at high Mach number nonrelativistic perpendicular shocks is studied here for parameters that are applicable to young SNR shocks. Using high-resolution large-scale two-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations and tracing individual particles, we in detail analyze the shock-surfing acceleration (SSA) of electrons at the leading edge of the shock foot. The central question is to what degree the process can be captured in 2D3V simulations. We find that the energy gain in SSA always arises from the electrostatic field of a Buneman wave. Electron energization is more efficient in the out-of-plane orientation of the large-scale magnetic field because both the phase speed and the amplitude of the waves are higher than for the in-plane scenario. Also, a larger number of electrons is trapped by the waves compared to the in-plane configuration. We conclude that significant modifications of the simulation parameters are needed to reach the same level of SSA efficiency as in simulations with out-of-plane magnetic field or 3D simulations. KW - acceleration of particles KW - instabilities KW - ISM: supernova remnants KW - methods: numerical KW - plasmas KW - shock waves Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab1b6d SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 878 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bohdan, Artem A1 - Niemiec, Jacek A1 - Kobzar, Oleh A1 - Pohl, Martin T1 - Electron Pre-acceleration at Nonrelativistic High-Mach-number Perpendicular Shocks JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We perform particle-in-cell simulations of perpendicular nonrelativistic collisionless shocks to study electron heating and pre-acceleration for parameters that permit the extrapolation to the conditions at young supernova remnants. Our high-resolution large-scale numerical experiments sample a representative portion of the shock surface and demonstrate that the efficiency of electron injection is strongly modulated with the phase of the shock reformation. For plasmas with low and moderate temperature (plasma beta beta p =5.10(-4) and 0.5 beta p =), we explore the nonlinear shock structure and electron pre-acceleration for various orientations of the large-scale magnetic field with respect to the simulation plane, while keeping it at 90 degrees to the shock normal. Ion reflection off of the shock leads to the formation of magnetic filaments in the shock ramp, resulting from Weibel-type instabilities, and electrostatic Buneman modes in the shock foot. In all of the cases under study, the latter provides first-stage electron energization through the shock-surfing acceleration mechanism. The subsequent energization strongly depends on the field orientation and proceeds through adiabatic or second-order Fermi acceleration processes for configurations with the out-of-plane and in-plane field components, respectively. For strictly out-of-plane field, the fraction of suprathermal electrons is much higher than for other configurations, because only in this case are the Buneman modes fully captured by the 2D simulation grid. Shocks in plasma with moderate bp provide more efficient pre-acceleration. The relevance of our results to the physics of fully 3D systems is discussed. KW - acceleration of particles KW - instabilities KW - ISM: supernova remnants KW - methods: numerical KW - plasmas KW - shock Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aa872a SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 847 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi A1 - Frederiksen, J. T. A1 - Nordlund, A. A1 - Mizuno, Y. A1 - Hardee, P. E. A1 - Niemiec, J. A1 - Gomez, J. L. A1 - Dutan, I. A1 - Meli, A. A1 - Sol, H. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Hartmann, D. H. T1 - EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL RELATIVISTIC JETS: COLLIMATIONS AND EXPANSION WITH kKHI AND THE WEIBEL INSTABILITY JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - In the study of relativistic jets one of the key open questions is their interaction with the environment. Here. we study the initial evolution of both electron-proton (e(-) - p(+)) and electron-positron (e(+/-)) relativistic jets, focusing on their lateral interaction with ambient plasma. We follow the evolution of toroidal magnetic fields generated by both the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz and Mushroom instabilities. For an e(-) - p(+) jet, the induced magnetic field collimates the jet and electrons are perpendicularly accelerated. As the instabilities saturate and subsequently weaken, the magnetic polarity switches from clockwise to counterclockwise in the middle of the jet. For an e(+/-) jet, we find strong mixing of electrons and positrons with the ambient plasma, resulting in the creation of a bow shock. The merging of current filaments generates density inhomogeneities that. initiate a forward shock. Strong jet-ambient plasma mixing prevents a full development of the jet (on the scale studied), revealing evidence for both jet collimation and particle acceleration in the forming bow shock. Differences in the magnetic field structure generated by e(-) - p(+) and e(+/-) jets may contribute to the polarization properties of the observed emission in AGN jets and gamma-ray bursts. KW - acceleration of particles KW - plasmas KW - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal KW - relativistic processes KW - stars: jets KW - Sun: magnetic fields Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/820/2/94 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 820 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi A1 - Hardee, P. E. A1 - Dutan, I. A1 - Niemiec, J. A1 - Medvedev, M. A1 - Mizuno, Y. A1 - Meli, A. A1 - Sol, H. A1 - Zhang, B. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Hartmann, D. H. T1 - Magnetic agnetic field generation in core-sheath jets via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We have investigated magnetic field generation in velocity shears via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) using a relativistic plasma jet core and stationary plasma sheath. Our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations consider plasma jet cores with Lorentz factors of 1.5, 5, and 15 for both electron-proton and electron-positron plasmas. For electron-proton plasmas, we find generation of strong large-scale DC currents and magnetic fields that extend over the entire shear surface and reach thicknesses of a few tens of electron skin depths. For electron-positron plasmas, we find generation of alternating currents and magnetic fields. Jet and sheath plasmas are accelerated across the shear surface in the strong magnetic fields generated by the kKHI. The mixing of jet and sheath plasmas generates a transverse structure similar to that produced by the Weibel instability. KW - acceleration of particles KW - magnetic fields KW - plasmas KW - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal KW - relativistic processes KW - stars: jets Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/793/1/60 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 793 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stroman, Thomas A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Niemiec, Jacek A1 - Bret, Antoine T1 - Could cosmic rays affect instabilities in the Transition layer of nonrealativistic collisionless shocks? JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - There is an observational correlation between astrophysical shocks and nonthermal particle distributions extending to high energies. As a first step toward investigating the possible feedback of these particles on the shock at the microscopic level, we perform particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a simplified environment consisting of uniform, interpenetrating plasmas, both with and without an additional population of cosmic rays. We vary the relative density of the counterstreaming plasmas, the strength of a homogeneous parallel magnetic field, and the energy density in cosmic rays. We compare the early development of the unstable spectrum for selected configurations without cosmic rays to the growth rates predicted from linear theory, for assurance that the system is well represented by the PIC technique. Within the parameter space explored, we do not detect an unambiguous signature of any cosmic-ray-induced effects on the microscopic instabilities that govern the formation of a shock. We demonstrate that an overly coarse distribution of energetic particles can artificially alter the statistical noise that produces the perturbative seeds of instabilities, and that such effects can be mitigated by increasing the density of computational particles. KW - cosmic rays KW - instabilities KW - plasmas KW - shock waves Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/746/1/24 SN - 0004-637X VL - 746 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niemiec, Jacek A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Bret, Antoine A1 - Wieland, Volkmar T1 - Nonrelativistic parallel shocks in unmagnetized and weakly magnetized plasmas JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We present results of 2D3V particle-in-cell simulations of nonrelativistic plasma collisions with absent or parallel large-scale magnetic field for parameters applicable to the conditions at young supernova remnants. We study the collision of plasma slabs of different density, leading to two different shocks and a contact discontinuity. Electron dynamics play an important role in the development of the system. While nonrelativistic shocks in both unmagnetized and magnetized plasmas can be mediated by Weibel-type instabilities, the efficiency of shock-formation processes is higher when a large-scale magnetic field is present. The electron distributions downstream of the forward and reverse shocks are generally isotropic, whereas that is not always the case for the ions. We do not see any significant evidence of pre-acceleration, neither in the electron population nor in the ion distribution. KW - acceleration of particles KW - instabilities KW - ISM: supernova remnants KW - methods: numerical KW - plasmas KW - shock waves Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/759/1/73 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 759 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER -