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Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 501(4), 4837 - 4849 (2021). doi:10.1093/mnras/staa3901, Mildly relativistic shocks in magnetized electron���ion plasmas are investigated with 2D kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of unprecedentedly high resolution and large scale for conditions that may be found at internal shocks in blazar cores. Ion-scale effects cause corrugations along the shock surface whose properties somewhat depend on the configuration of the mean perpendicular magnetic field, that is either in or out of the simulation plane. We show that the synchrotron maser instability persists to operate in mildly relativistic shocks in agreement with theoretical predictions and produces coherent emission of upstream-propagating electromagnetic waves. Shock front ripples are excited in both mean-field configurations and they engender effective wave amplification. The interaction of these waves with upstream plasma generates electrostatic wakefields., Published by Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford

Heliosphere is a bubble occupied by the solar wind plasma and magnetic field in the local interstellar space. The motion of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) invading into the heliosphere are strongly affected by the electromagnetic structures of the heliosphere. The statistical behavior of the GCRs near and inside the heliosphere have been conventionally studied by many authors using the diffusion convection model [e.g., Moraal (2013)]. In this study we investigate the behavior of GCRs invading into the heliosphere in the level of particle trajectory. We conduct test particle simulations of GCRs by using the electromagnetic fields obtained from a global MHD simulation of the heliosphere. The MHD simulation assumes steady solar wind and interstellar wind. GCR protons are initially distributed outside the heliosphere and their motions in the steady virtual heliosphere are calculated by using the Buneman-Boris method. Depending on their initial energy, various types of particle motions, current sheet drift, polar drift, spiral motion, shock drift, Fermi-like acceleration, linear motion, resonantly scattered motion, mirror reflection by bottleneck interstellar field, are observed. We further discuss some statistics of the particles reached at the inner boundary (=50AU from the sun) of the simulation domain.

Shock waves propagating in collisionless heliospheric and astrophysical plasmas have been studied extensively over the decades. One prime motivation is to understand the nonthermal particle acceleration at shocks. Although the theory of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) has long been the standard for cosmic-ray acceleration at shocks, plasma physical understanding of particle acceleration remains elusive. In this review, we discuss nonthermal electron acceleration mechanisms at quasi-perpendicular shocks, for which substantial progress has been made in recent years. The discussion presented in this review is restricted to the following three specific topics. The first is stochastic shock drift acceleration (SSDA), which is a relatively new mechanism for electron injection into DSA. The basic mechanism, related in-situ observations and kinetic simulations results, and how it is connected with DSA will be discussed. Second, we discuss shock surfing acceleration (SSA) at very high Mach number shocks relevant to young supernova remnants (SNRs). While the original proposal under the one-dimensional assumption is unrealistic, SSA has now been proven efficient by a fully three-dimensional kinetic simulation. Finally, we discuss the current understanding of the magnetized Weibel-dominated shock. Spontaneous magnetic reconnection of self-generated current sheets within the shock structure is an interesting consequence of Weibel-generated strong magnetic turbulence. We argue that high Mach number shocks with both Alfven and sound Mach numbers exceeding 20-40 will likely behave as a Weibel-dominated shock. Despite a number of interesting recent findings, the relative roles of SSDA, SSA, and magnetic reconnection for electron acceleration at collisionless shocks and how the dominant particle acceleration mechanisms change depending on shock parameters remain to be answered., Comment: To appear in Reviews of Modern Plasma Physics as an invited review

Microinstabilities and waves excited at perpendicular interplanetary shocks in the near-Sun solar wind are investigated by full particle-in-cell simulations. By analyzing the dispersion relation of fluctuating field components directly issued from the shock simulation, we obtain key findings concerning wave excitations at the shock front: (1) at the leading edge of the foot, two types of electrostatic (ES) waves are observed. The relative drift of the reflected ions versus the electrons triggers an electron cyclotron drift instability (ECDI) that excites the first ES wave. Because the bulk velocity of gyro-reflected ions shifts to the direction of the shock front, the resulting ES wave propagates obliquely to the shock normal. Immediately, a fraction of incident electrons are accelerated by this ES wave and a ring-like velocity distribution is generated. They can couple with the hot Maxwellian core and excite the second ES wave around the upper hybrid frequency. (2) From the middle of the foot all the way to the ramp, electrons can couple with both incident and reflected ions. ES waves excited by ECDI in different directions propagate across each other. Electromagnetic (EM) waves (X mode) emitted toward upstream are observed in both regions. They are probably induced by a small fraction of relativistic electrons. The impact of shock front rippling, Mach numbers, and dimensions on the ES wave excitation also will be discussed. Results shed new insight on the mechanism for the occurrence of ES wave excitations and possible EM wave emissions at young coronal mass ejection–driven shocks in the near-Sun solar wind.

Particle acceleration at magnetized purely perpendicular relativistic shocks in electron-ion plasmas are studied by means of two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. Magnetized shocks with the upstream bulk Lorentz factor $\gamma_1 \gg 1$ are known to emit intense electromagnetic waves from the shock front, which induce electrostatic plasma waves (wakefield) and transverse filamentary structures in the upstream region via the stimulated/induced Raman scattering and the filamentation instability, respectively. The wakefield and filaments inject a fraction of incoming particles into a particle acceleration process, in which particles are once decoupled from the upstream bulk flow by the wakefield, and are piked up again by the flow. The picked-up particles are accelerated by the motional electric field. The maximum attainable Lorentz factor is estimated as $\gamma_{max,e} \sim \alpha\gamma_1^3$ for electrons and $\gamma_{max,i} \sim (1+m_e\gamma_1/m_i)\gamma_1^2$ for ions, where $\alpha \sim 10$ is determined from our simulation results. $\alpha$ can increase up to $\gamma_1$ for weakly magnetized shock if $\gamma_1$ is sufficiently large. This result indicates that highly relativistic astrophysical shocks such as external shocks of gamma-ray bursts can be an efficient particle accelerator., Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, accepted to ApJ

Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 502(4), 5065-5074 (2021). doi:10.1093/mnras/stab220, Particle acceleration and heating at mildly relativistic magnetized shocks in electron-ion plasma are investigated with unprecedentedly high-resolution two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations that include ion-scale shock rippling. Electrons are super-adiabatically heated at the shock, and most of the energy transfer from protons to electrons takes place at or downstream of the shock. We are the first to demonstrate that shock rippling is crucial for the energization of electrons at the shock. They remain well below equipartition with the protons. The downstream electron spectra are approximately thermal with a limited supra-thermal power-law component. Our results are discussed in the context of wakefield acceleration and the modelling of electromagnetic radiation from blazar cores., Published by Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford

International audience; Microinstabilities and waves excited at moderate-Mach-number perpendicular shocks in the near-Sun solar wind are investigated by full particle-in-cell simulations. By analyzing the dispersion relation of fluctuating field components directly issued from the shock simulation, we obtain key findings concerning wave excitations at the shock front: (1) at the leading edge of the foot, two types of electrostatic (ES) waves are observed. The relative drift of the reflected ions versus the electrons triggers an electron cyclotron drift instability (ECDI) that excites the first ES wave. Because the bulk velocity of gyro-reflected ions shifts to the direction of the shock front, the resulting ES wave propagates oblique to the shock normal. Immediately, a fraction of incident electrons are accelerated by this ES wave and a ring-like velocity distribution is generated. They can couple with the hot Maxwellian core and excite the second ES wave around the upper hybrid frequency. (2) From the middle of the foot all the way to the ramp, electrons can couple with both incident and reflected ions. ES waves excited by ECDI in different directions propagate across each other. Electromagnetic (EM) waves (X mode) emitted toward upstream are observed in both regions. They are probably induced by a small fraction of relativistic electrons. Results shed new insight on the mechanism for the occurrence of ES wave excitations and possible EM wave emissions at young coronal mass ejection-driven shocks in the near-Sun solar wind.

Magnetic reconnection is experimentally investigated in laser produced plasmas. By irradiating a solid target with a high-power laser beam, a magnetic bubble is generated due to the Biermann effect. When two laser beams with finite focal spot displacements are utilized, two magnetic bubbles are generated, and the magnetic reconnection can take place. We measure the spatial and temporal plasma evolutions with optical diagnostics using framing camera. We observed the plasma jets, which are considered to be reconnection out flows. Spatial and temporal scales of the plasma jets are much larger than those of laser. The magnetic reconnection time has been estimated from the expansion velocity, which is consistent with the Sweet-Parker model.

In this study, we assess the hourly variations of the three-dimensional proton flux distribution inside the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) during a geomagnetic storm. We have developed a relativistic three-dimensional guiding center test particle simulation code in order to compute the proton trajectories in a time-varying magnetic field background provided by Tsyganenko model TS05 and the corresponding time-varying inductive electric field. The Dst index is the main input parameter to the simulation model, while the maximum proton flux, the area of the SAA calculated below a selected threshold, and the penetration depth of the protons are the main output variables investigated in this study were. Since the LEO spacecraft and human-related activities are already affected by space weather conditions, the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) is also believed to create an additional source of risk. As the radiation environment depends essentially on the particle flux, the objective of this study is to estimate quantitatively the proton flux variations inside the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) in quiet and in storm conditions. So far, it was found that after several drift periods, the protons in the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) could penetrate to lower altitudes during geomagnetic storm event, and that, the SAA maximum flux value and the corresponding area, varied differently with respect to altitudes. Numerical results were compared with observations by NOAA 17 and RD3R2 instrument mounted on International Space Station (ISS).

A shock tube problem is solved numerically by using one-dimensional full particle-in-cell simulations under the condition that a relatively tenuous and weakly magnetized plasma is continuously pushed by a relatively dense and strongly magnetized plasma having supersonic relative velocity. A forward and a reverse shock and a contact discontinuity are self-consistently reproduced. The spatial width of the contact discontinuity increases as the angle between the discontinuity normal and ambient magnetic field decreases. The inner structure of the discontinuity shows different profiles between magnetic field and plasma density, or pressure, which is caused by a non-MHD effect of the local plasma. The region between the two shocks is turbulent. The fluctuations in the relatively dense plasma are compressible and propagating away from the contact discontinuity, although the fluctuations in the relatively tenuous plasma contain both compressible and incompressible components. The source of the compressible fluctuations in the relatively dense plasma is in the relatively tenuous plasma. Only compressible fast mode fluctuations generated in the relatively tenuous plasma are transmitted through the contact discontinuity and propagate in the relatively dense plasma. These fast mode fluctuations are steepened when passing the contact discontinuity. This wave steepening and probably other effects may cause the broadening of the wave spectrum in the very local interstellar medium plasma. The results are discussed in the context of the heliospheric boundary region or heliopause., Comment: 14 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

A generation mechanism of super Alfv\'{e}nic (SPA) waves in multi-ion species plasma is proposed and the associated heavy ion acceleration process is discussed. The SPA waves are thought to play important roles in particle acceleration since they have large wave electric field because of their high phase velocity. It is demonstrated by using full particle-in-cell simulation that large amplitude proton cyclotron waves, excited due to proton temperature anisotropy, nonlinearly destabilize SPA waves through parametric decay instability in a three component plasma composed of electrons, protons, and $\alpha$ particles. At the same time, $\alpha$ cyclotron waves get excited via another decay instability. A pre-accelerated $\alpha$ particle resonates simultaneously with the two daughter waves, the SPA waves and the $\alpha$ cyclotron waves, and it is further accelerated perpendicular to the ambient magnetic field. The process may work in astrophysical environments where sufficiently large temperature anisotropy of lower mass ions occurs., Comment: 4 figures

Electrons are accelerated to non-thermal energies at shocks in space and astrophysical environments. While different mechanisms of electron acceleration have been proposed, it remains unclear how n ...

Collective Thomson scattering (CTS) has been applied to laser-produced plasmas with Gekko XII HIPER laser facility. A scheme of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) has been used in CTS measurements for the first time. Utilizing SBS shortens the probe pulse, which increases the scattered power, and thus collected scattered signal of CTS. Therefore, a lower energy probe laser can be used for given background emission levels to avoid probe heating, which is crucial for plasmas with low electron temperature. Both electron and ion features of CTS have been successfully detected by using the SBS technique. The spatial profile of electron density, temperature, and drift velocity have been estimated in an ablation plasma. In addition to the local measurements with CTS, a global structure of plasmas has been obtained with optical imaging of the self-emission of plasmas and the interferometry. In the aspects of drift velocity and plasma density, the local and global information are in good agreement.

The astrophysical journal / 1 919(2), 97 (1-12) (2021). doi:doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac1107, Using large-scale fully-kinetic two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we investigate the effects of shock rippling on electron acceleration at low-Mach-number shocks propagating in high-$\beta$ plasmas, in application to merger shocks in galaxy clusters. We find that the electron acceleration rate increases considerably when the rippling modes appear. The main acceleration mechanism is stochastic shock-drift acceleration, in which electrons are confined at the shock by pitch-angle scattering off turbulence and gain energy from the motional electric field. The presence of multi-scale magnetic turbulence at the shock transition and the region immediately behind the main shock overshoot is essential for electron energization. Wide-energy non-thermal electron distributions are formed both upstream and downstream of the shock. The maximum energy of the electrons is sufficient for their injection into diffusive shock acceleration. We show for the first time that the downstream electron spectrum has a power-law form with index p ≈ 2.5, in agreement with observations., Published by Institute of Physics Publ., London

The trajectories of galactic cosmic-ray protons invading the heliosphere are investigated by using numerical simulations. A time stationary global heliosphere is first reproduced by using a high-resolution MHD simulation. Then, motions of a number of test particles (protons) distributed in the virtual heliosphere are numerically solved. When the initial particle Lorentz factor is 10 (∼10 GeV), the motions of particles are strongly affected by small-scale heliospheric structures reflecting the small gyroradii of the particles. Particles can enter the heliosphere from many parts (nose, flank, and tail) of the heliopause. Once they have entered, they expand in the region where the magnetic field is locally weak, such as the heliopause and the heliospheric current sheet. On the other hand, particles have difficulty invading upstream of the termination shock. We found a variety of invading particle trajectory patterns such as current sheet drift, polar drift, spiral motion, shock drift, and Fermi-like acceleration. In the latter two, particles are accelerated. When the initial particle Lorentz factor is 1000 (∼1 TeV), the particles are insensitive to the small-scale structures of the heliosphere due to their large gyroradii. Some particles show eccentric motions due to resonant interaction with the large-scale eddy in the heliotail. Some other particles passing by the heliosphere are mirror reflected due to the bottleneck structure of interstellar magnetic field surrounding the heliosphere and return back to enter the heliosphere.

A test particle simulation code was developed to simulate the inner proton belt response during the intense geomagnetic storm of 15 May 2005. The guiding center model was implemented to compute the proton trajectories with an energy range of 70–180 MeV. The time-varying magnetic field model implemented in the simulations was computed by the Tsyganenko model TS05 with the associated inductive electric field. One of the most important features of the low-earth orbit (LEO) environment is the South Atlantic Anomaly, which imposes a dangerous radiation load on most LEO missions. This research aims to investigate the proton flux variations in the anomaly region with respect to space weather conditions. The results showed that during the main phase of the geomagnetic storm, the proton flux in the SAA decreased, whereas, throughout the initial and recovery phases, the proton flux was increased at most of the altitudes. Satellite measurements confirmed numerical results.

Linear dispersion relation of parametric instabilities of a left hand circularly polarized wave in a three species plasma consisting electrons, protons, and α particles is derived and the obtained dispersion relation is numerically solved. It is shown that the so-called super Alfvénic waves, which are thought to play important roles in preferential acceleration of heavy ions, can get excited through a parametric decay instability when the parent wave is on the proton cyclotron branch and the plasma beta is sufficiently low. A variety of other parametric instabilities are also generated.

We have implemented laser Thomson scattering for local plasma measurement of electron and ion temperatures, electron density, flow velocity, and charge state. The electron density increases by two times in the interaction of two plasma flows, indicating collisionless interaction. The density and velocity show fluctuations only at t = 40 ns, and the density suddenly decreases, indicating the plasma ejection from the interaction region, which can be explained by a magnetic reconnection. The electron temperature in the double-flow is larger than that in the single flow. This may be explained by the energy transfer from the plasma kinetic energy to thermal energy. The ion temperature is much larger than electron temperature in the double-flow, and this may be explained by collisional effects between two plasmas, and/or possibly interpreted as a thermalization due to magnetic reconnection.

A preliminary numerical experiment is conducted for laboratory experiments on the generation of magnetized collisionless shocks with high-power lasers by using one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation. The present study deals with the interaction between a moving aluminum plasma and a nitrogen plasma at rest. In the numerical experiment, the nitrogen plasma is unmagnetized or magnetized by a weak external magnetic field. Since the previous study suggested the generation of a spontaneous magnetic field in the piston (aluminum) plasma due to the Biermann battery, the effect of the magnetic field is of interest. Sharp jumps of the electron density and magnetic field are observed around the interface between the two plasmas as long as one of the two plasmas is magnetized, which indicates the formation of tangential electron-magneto-hydro-dynamic discontinuity. When the aluminum plasma is magnetized, strong compression of both the density and the magnetic field takes place in the pure aluminum plasma during the gyration of nitrogen ions in the aluminum plasma region. The formation of a shock downstream is obtained from the shock jump condition. The results suggest that the spontaneous magnetic field in the piston (aluminum) plasma plays an essential role in the formation of a perpendicular collisionless shock., ファイル公開：2020-03-05

We developed an experimental platform for studying magnetic reconnection in an external magnetic field with simultaneous measurements of plasma imaging, flow velocity, and magnetic-field variation. Here, we investigate the stagnation and acceleration in counter-streaming plasmas generated by high-power laser beams. A plasma flow perpendicular to the initial flow directions is measured with laser Thomson scattering. The flow is, interestingly, accelerated toward the high-density region, which is opposite to the direction of the acceleration by pressure gradients. This acceleration is possibly interpreted by the interaction of two magnetic field loops initially generated by Biermann battery effect, resulting in a magnetic reconnection forming a single field loop and additional acceleration by a magnetic tension force., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Physics of Plasmas, in press

Magnetic reconnections play essential roles in space, astrophysical, and laboratory plasmas, where the anti-parallel magnetic field components re-connect and the magnetic energy is converted to the plasma energy as Alfvénic out flows. Although the electron dynamics is considered to be essential, it is highly challenging to observe electron scale reconnections. Here we show the experimental results on an electron scale reconnection driven by the electron dynamics in laser-produced plasmas. We apply a weak-external magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the plasma propagation, where the magnetic field is directly coupled with only the electrons but not for the ions. Since the kinetic pressure of plasma is much larger than the magnetic pressure, the magnetic field is distorted and locally anti-parallel. We observe plasma collimations, cusp and plasmoid like features with optical diagnostics. The plasmoid propagates at the electron Alfvén velocity, indicating a reconnection driven by the electron dynamics., Magnetic reconnection is the process of releasing energy by magnetized and space plasma. Here the authors report experimental observation of magnetic reconnection in laser-produced plasma and the role of electron scaling on reconnection.

The Earth's foreshock extends to a large domain of upstream quasi-parallel bow shock, and is characterized by a presence of field-aligned beams (FABs), diffuse ions, ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves, high frequency whistler waves, shocklets, and so on. Kinetic self-consistent numerical simulation is one of the key tools to analyze detailed physics of the foreshock which has not been clearly understood. Because of the necessity of the large simulation domain, a full particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of quasi-parallel shock has seldom been performed. In this paper we show preliminary results of a long-term and large-scale one-dimensional full PIC simulation of the quasi-parallel collisionless shock with the Alfven Mach number 6.6 and shock angle $20$ degrees. The FAB component is observed far upstream with the beam velocity of 10.5 times the Alfven velocity and the beam density of 0.5 % of the background plasma. This FAB generates right-handed Alfven waves in the plasma rest frame via resonant mode instability, and the excited waves are amplified as approaching the shock during the plasma convection. The number densities of energetic particles for both electrons and ions also increase as approaching the shock.

The microstructure of the heliospheric termination shock and the accompanied local acceleration processes of both ions and electrons are investigated by utilizing one-dimensional full particle-in-cell simulations for a variety of parameters. The relative pickup ion density is assumed to be 20–30%. The magnetic field and the shock potential profiles exhibit significant differences, since the former mostly reflects the dynamics of solar wind ions, whereas the latter is mainly sustained by the bulk motion of the reflected pickup ions in the extended foot. The discrepancy between the magnetic field profile and the potential profile increases with Alfven Mach number. Most of the downstream thermal energy is gained by the pickup ions, while some heating of the solar wind ions and electrons occurs through the modified two-stream instability excited in the extended foot. Self-reformation can occur when the relative pickup ion density is 20% but is blurred when it becomes as large as 30%. Reformation is also suppressed if the local solar wind ion temperature in the extended foot is high, which can either be due to heating by the modified two-stream instability or is already determined by the solar wind temperature far upstream. In all runs presented in this study no evidence for shock surfing acceleration of pickup ions could be found. Nonthermal particle acceleration occurs for oblique shocks. Electron (pickup ion) shock drift acceleration is evidenced when the shock angle is below 80° (60°).

We perform a one-dimensional full particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of a quasi-parallel collisionless shock with the Alfven Mach number 6.6 and a shock angle of 20 degrees between the upstream magnetic field and the shock normal direction. The backstreaming ions are self-consistently generated by reflections of the incoming ions at the shock. They generate the Alfvenic electromagnetic wave via the right-handed resonant ion-ion instability, as the ions travel toward the upstream region. The energy distribution of the backstreaming ions far upstream splits into two populations as it approaches the shock. The energy threshold of the populations is approximately the energy gained by a single specular reflection at the shock. The maximum energy of the backstreaming ions near the shock is about 10 times larger than the specularly reflected ion energy. Nonlinear phase bunches of the high-energy backstreaming ions and the background ions are found near the shock, due to the resonant and non-resonant trappings by the excited waves, respectively.

We investigate spherical collisionless shocks in the presence of an external magnetic field. Spherical collisionless shocks are common resultant of interactions between a expanding plasma and a surrounding plasma, such as the solar wind, stellar winds, and supernova remnants. Anisotropies often observed in shock propagations and their emissions, and it is widely believed a magnetic field plays a major role. Since the local observations of magnetic fields in astrophysical plasmas are not accessible, laboratory experiments provide unique capability to investigate such phenomena. We model the spherical shocks in the universe by irradiating a solid spherical target surrounded by a plasma in the presence of a magnetic field. We present preliminary results obtained by shadowgraphy.

One of the important and interesting problems in astrophysics and plasma physics is collimation of plasma jets. The collimation mechanism, which causes a plasma flow to propagate a long distance, has not been understood in detail. We have been investigating a model experiment to simulate astrophysical plasma jets with an external magnetic field [Nishio et al., EPJ. Web of Conferences 59, 15005 (2013)]. The experiment was performed by using Gekko XII HIPER laser system at Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University. We shot CH plane targets (3 mm × 3 mm × 10 μm) and observed rear-side plasma flows. A collimated plasma flow or plasma jet was generated by separating focal spots of laser beams. In this report, we measured plasma jet structure without an external magnetic field with shadowgraphy, and simultaneously measured the local parameters of the plasma jet, i.e., electron density, electron and ion temperatures, charge state, and drift velocity, with collective Thomson scattering.

This study reports observations of energetic ions upstream of the Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock by Cluster at times when interspacecraft separation distances were large. We analyze two individual upstream ion events during high solar wind velocity conditions to compare the spatial evolution of partial energetic ion densities in front of the Earth's bow shock along the magnetic field line. Using a bow shock model, we determine the distance of SC1 and SC3 to the bow shock surface parallel to the magnetic field. The CIS-HIA instrument on board Cluster provides partial energetic ion densities in four energy channels between 10 and 32 keV. Using the differences of the partial energetic ion densities observed on SC1 and SC3, and the distances of the spacecraft to the bow shock, we determine the spatial gradient of partial energetic ion densities at various distances from the bow shock. We show, for the first time, that the e-folding distance and the diffusion coefficient of the diffuse ions become unusually small when these ions interact with high-intensity waves generated by a strong field-aligned beam.

A model experiment of magnetic field amplification (MFA) via the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) in supernova remnants (SNRs) was performed using a high-power laser. In order to account for very-fast acceleration of cosmic rays observed in SNRs, it is considered that the magnetic field has to be amplified by orders of magnitude from its background level. A possible mechanism for the MFA in SNRs is stretching and mixing of the magnetic field via the RMI when shock waves pass through dense molecular clouds in interstellar media. In order to model the astrophysical phenomenon in laboratories, there are three necessary factors for the RMI to be operative: a shock wave, an external magnetic field, and density inhomogeneity. By irradiating a double-foil target with several laser beams with focal spot displacement under influence of an external magnetic field, shock waves were excited and passed through the density inhomogeneity. Radiative hydrodynamic simulations show that the RMI evolves as the density inhomogeneity is shocked, resulting in higher MFA.

1Interactive Research Center for Science and Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan 2Department of Earth System Science and Technology, Kyushu University, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan 3Kwasan Observatory, Kyoto University, Kyoto 607-8471, Japan 4Cosmic Radiation Laboratory, Riken, Wako 351-0198, Japan 5Department of Physics, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan

We review recent studies on mass ratio dependence of self-reformation of high Mach number, low β, highly oblique quasi-perpendicular shocks by Scholer et al. (Scholer, M., Shinohara, I., Matsukiyo, S. Quasi-perpendicular shocks: length scale of the cross-shock potential, shock reformation, and implication for shock surfing, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 1014, doi:10.1029/2002JA009515, 2003.), Matsukiyo and Scholer (Matsukiyo, S., Scholer, M. Modified two-stream instability in the foot of high Mach number quasi-perpendicular shocks, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 1459, doi:10.1029/2003JA10080, 2003.), and Scholer and Matsukiyo (Scholer, M., Matsukiyo, S. Nonstationarity of quasi-perpendicular shocks: a comparison of full particle simulations with different ion to electron mass ratio, Ann. Geophys., in press, 2004.). A one-dimensional full particle simulation code is utilized. In small ion to electron mass ratio runs, reformation is due to the accumulation of gyrating reflected ions at the upstream edge of the foot. Furthermore, at an extremely small mass ratio, the Buneman instability is generated in the foot. In the realistic mass ratio run, however, the modified two-stream instability excited in the foot plays an important role in a shock reformation process.

We have performed 3 one-dimensional full particle electromagnetic simulations of a quasi-perpendicular shock with the same Alfvén Mach number MA=4.5, shock normal - magnetic field angle ΘBn=87°, and ion and electron beta (particle to magnetic field pressure) of 0.05, but with different ion to electron mass ratios (mi/me=80, 400, 1840). At high ion beta it has been shown previously that the shock is steady. At low ion beta, as in the present simulations, the shock periodically reforms itself. However, whereas at unrealistically low mass ratios the reformation is due to accumulation of specularly reflected particles at the upstream edge of the foot, at the realistic mass ratio the modified two-stream instability between the incoming solar wind ions and solar wind electrons leads to ion phase mixing and thermalization. The reformation process is thereby considerably modified. At the lowest mass ratio the Buneman instability between the solar wind electrons and the reflected ions is excited, which is stabilized at higher mass ratios.

Field-aligned diffusion of energetic ions in the Earth's foreshock is investigated by using the quasi-linear theory (QLT) and test particle simulation. Non-propagating MHD turbulence in the solar wind rest frame is assumed to be purely transverse with respect to the background field. We use a turbulence model based on a multi-power-law spectrum including an intense peak that corresponds to upstream ULF waves resonantly generated by the field-aligned beam (FAB). The presence of the ULF peak produces a concave shape of the diffusion coefficient when it is plotted versus the ion energy. The QLT including the effect of the ULF wave explains the simulation result well, when the energy density of the turbulent magnetic field is 1% of that of the background magnetic field and the power-law index of the wave spectrum is less than 2. The numerically obtained e-folding distances from 10 to 32 keV ions match with the observational values in the event discussed in the companion paper, which contains an intense ULF peak in the spectra generated by the FAB. Evolution of the power spectrum of the ULF waves when approaching the shock significantly affects the energy dependence of the e-folding distance.

Relativistic ring distribution of plasma particles generates electromagnetic waves via the relativistic cyclotron resonance. The long time evolution of this so-called cyclotron maser instability at null wave number (k50) is studied in detail, by performing particle simulations using a plasma which consists of relativistic ring electrons, background positrons, and background electrons. The linear and nonlinear stages of the system evolution are discussed for both gyrotropic and nongyrotropic ring distributions. The linear theory predicts that, when the initial ring energy is strongly relativistic, there appears a critical initial ring momentum at which the system is marginally stable. Numerical simulations show, however, that the system is nonlinearly unstable even when the initial ring momentum exceeds the critical momentum. The final saturation level of the wave energy is obtained analytically.

A shock–shock interaction is investigated by using a one-dimensional full particle-in-cell simulation. The simulation reproduces the collision of two symmetrical high Mach number quasi-perpendicular shocks. The basic structure of the shocks and ion dynamics is similar to that obtained by previous hybrid simulations. The new aspects obtained here are as follows. Electrons are already strongly accelerated before the two shocks collide through multiple reflection. The reflected electrons self-generate waves upstream between the two shocks before they collide. The waves far upstream are generated through the right-hand resonant instability with the anomalous Doppler effect. The waves generated near the shock are due to firehose instability and have much larger amplitudes than those due to the resonant instability. The high-energy electrons are efficiently scattered by the waves so that some of them gain large pitch angles. Those electrons can be easily reflected at the shock of the other side. The accelerated electrons form a power-law energy spectrum. Due to the accelerated electrons, the pressure of upstream electrons increases with time. This appears to cause the deceleration of the approaching shock speed. The accelerated electrons having sufficiently large Larmor radii are further accelerated through the similar mechanism working for ions when the two shocks are colliding.

It is well-known that a cool field-aligned electron beam streaming in a plasma can destabilize electrostatic waves, in the frequency ranges of 0

We have performed one-dimensional full particle-in-cell simulations of two colliding shocks. Results of three simulation runs are examined in detail. In Run1 (Alfven Mach number MA~7.5, ion and electron beta βi,e=1, shock normal angle θBn=90), substantial acceleration of ions and modification of shock structure are observed when the two shocks collide. However, the electron acceleration is not evident. In Run2 (MA~7.5, βi,e=0.05, θBn=90), modification of the shock structure appears to be more drastic. In Run3 (MA~6.5, βi,e=0.05, θBn=60), electrons are accelerated to relativistic energies as they are repeatedly reflected by the two shocks.

Large-scale two-dimensional (2D) full particle-in-cell simulations are carried out for studying the relationship between the dynamics of a perpendicular shock and microinstabilities generated at the shock foot. The structure and dynamics of collisionless shocks are generally determined by Alfven Mach number and plasma beta, while microinstabilities at the shock foot are controlled by the ratio of the upstream bulk velocity to the electron thermal velocity and the ratio of the plasma-to-cyclotron frequency. With a fixed Alfven Mach number and plasma beta, the ratio of the upstream bulk velocity to the electron thermal velocity is given as a function of the ion-to-electron mass ratio. The present 2D full PIC simulations with a relatively low Alfven Mach number (M_A ~ 6) show that the modified two-stream instability is dominant with higher ion-to-electron mass ratios. It is also confirmed that waves propagating downstream are more enhanced at the shock foot near the shock ramp as the mass ratio becomes higher. The result suggests that these waves play a role in the modification of the dynamics of collisionless shocks through the interaction with shock front ripples., Comment: 12 pages,7 figures, 1 table, Physics of Plasmas, in press; the paper with full resolution images is http://www.phys.aoyama.ac.jp/~ryo/papers/microinsta_PoP2.pdf arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1204.2539

We report experimental results on Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability and resultant vortices in laser-produced plasmas. By irradiating a double plane target with a laser beam, asymmetric counterstreaming plasmas are created. The interaction of the plasmas with different velocities and densities results in the formation of asymmetric shocks, where the shear flow exists along the contact surface and the KH instability is excited. We observe the spatial and temporal evolution of plasmas and shocks with time-resolved diagnostics over several shots. Our results clearly show the evolution of transverse fluctuations, wavelike structures, and circular features, which are interpreted as the KH instability and resultant vortices. The relevant numerical simulations demonstrate the time evolution of KH vortices and show qualitative agreement with experimental results. Shocks, and thus the contact surfaces, are ubiquitous in the universe; our experimental results show general consequences where two plasmas interact.