Back to Search
Start Over
Laboratory evidence for proton energization by collisionless shock surfing
- Source :
- Nature Physics, Nature Physics, 2021, 17 (10), pp.1177-1182. ⟨10.1038/s41567-021-01325-w⟩, Nature Phys., Nature Phys., 2021, 17 (10), pp.1177-1182. ⟨10.1038/s41567-021-01325-w⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- HAL CCSD, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Charged particles can be accelerated to high energies by collisionless shock waves in astrophysical environments, such as supernova remnants. By interacting with the magnetized ambient medium, these shocks can transfer energy to particles. Despite increasing efforts in the characterization of these shocks from satellite measurements at Earth’s bow shock as well as powerful numerical simulations, the underlying acceleration mechanism or a combination thereof is still widely debated. Here we show that astrophysically relevant super-critical quasi-perpendicular magnetized collisionless shocks can be produced and characterized in the laboratory. We observe the characteristics of super-criticality in the shock profile as well as the energization of protons picked up from the ambient gas to hundreds of kiloelectronvolts. Kinetic simulations modelling the laboratory experiment identified shock surfing as the proton acceleration mechanism. Our observations not only provide direct evidence of early-stage ion energization by collisionless shocks but also highlight the role played by this particular mechanism in energizing ambient ions to feed further stages of acceleration. Furthermore, our results open the door to future laboratory experiments investigating the possible transition to other mechanisms, when increasing the magnetic field strength, or the effect that induced shock front ripples could have on acceleration processes. Proton acceleration by a super-critical collisionless shock is observed in laboratory experiments, and numerical simulations suggest shock surfing as the underlying acceleration mechanism.
- Subjects :
- Shock wave
Proton
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
General Physics and Astronomy
FOS: Physical sciences
01 natural sciences
Acceleration
Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia E Astrofisica
0103 physical sciences
Bow shock (aerodynamics)
010306 general physics
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Physics
Mechanics
plasmas
Physics - Plasma Physics
Charged particle
Computer Science::Computers and Society
[PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-GEN-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/General Physics [physics.gen-ph]
Magnetic field
Shock (mechanics)
Plasma Physics (physics.plasm-ph)
Supernova
13. Climate action
Physics::Space Physics
Physics::Accelerator Physics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17452473 and 14764636
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Nature Physics, Nature Physics, 2021, 17 (10), pp.1177-1182. ⟨10.1038/s41567-021-01325-w⟩, Nature Phys., Nature Phys., 2021, 17 (10), pp.1177-1182. ⟨10.1038/s41567-021-01325-w⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....51e0218083b70a59ac397b1c3182c748