Structure of a strong supernova shock wave and rapid electron acceleration confined in its transition region
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)
- Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8602 (Japan)
A new rapid energization process within a supernova shock transition region (STR) is reported by utilizing numerical simulation. Although the scale of a STR as a main dissipation region is only several hundreds of thousands of kilometers, several interesting structures are found relating to the generation of a root of the energetic particles. The nonlinear evolution of plasma instabilities leads to a dynamical change in the ion phase space distribution, which associates with change in the field properties. As a result, different types of large-amplitude field structures appear. One is the leading wave packet, and another is a series of magnetic solitary humps. Each field structure has a microscopic scale (that is, the ion inertia length). Through the multiple nonlinear scattering between these large-amplitude field structures, electrons are accelerated directly. Within a STR, quick thermalization realizes energy equipartition between the ion and electron; hot electrons play an important role in keeping these large-amplitude field structures on the ion-acoustic mode. The hot electron shows non-Maxwellian distribution and could be the seed of further nonthermal population. The 'shock system', where fresh incoming and reflected ions are supplied constantly, play an essential role in our result. With a perpendicular shock geometry, the maximum energy of the electron is estimated by equating a width of the STR to a length of the Larmor radius of the energetic electron. Under some realistic condition of M{sub A}=170 and omega{sub pe}/OMEGA{sub ce}=120, maximum energy is estimated to be approx10 MeV at an instant only within the STR.
- OSTI ID:
- 21347193
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 17, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3322828; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ACCELERATION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ION ACOUSTIC WAVES
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PLASMA INSTABILITY
SHOCK WAVES
SUPERNOVAE
TAIL ELECTRONS
BINARY STARS
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
FERMIONS
INSTABILITY
ION WAVES
LEPTONS
PLASMA WAVES
SIMULATION
STARS
VARIABLE STARS