Numerical studies on ultrarelativistic ion motions in an oblique magnetosonic shock wave

Journal Article · Tue Dec 15 04:00:00 EST 2009 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3270110· OSTI ID:21371232

Usami, Shunsuke ^[1]; Horiuchi, Ritoku ^[1]; Ohsawa, Yukiharu ^[2]

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1. Department of Simulation Science, National Institute for Fusion Science, Toki 509-5292 (Japan)
2. Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602 (Japan)

The motion of ultrarelativistic ions in an oblique magnetosonic shock wave is studied analytically and numerically. The zeroth-order theory predicts that an oblique shock wave can accelerate ions in the direction nearly parallel to the magnetic field if the shock speed is v{sub sh}approxc cos theta, where theta is the angle between the wave normal and the magnetic field, while the perturbation is a one-dimensional oscillation nearly perpendicular to the zeroth-order motion. The perturbation frequency omega is of the order of OMEGA{sub i0}gamma{sup -1/2}, where gamma is the Lorentz factor of the zeroth-order velocity. These theoretical predictions are examined with test particle simulations, in which the test particle orbits are calculated with use of the electromagnetic fields of a shock wave obtained from an electromagnetic particle simulation. The zeroth-order and perturbed motions in the simulations are explained by the theory.

• OSTI ID: 21371232
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 16; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
CHARGED PARTICLES
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
HYDROMAGNETIC WAVES
IONS
MAGNETOACOUSTIC WAVES
MATHEMATICS
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
ORBITS
PLASMA
PLASMA SIMULATION
SHOCK WAVES
SIMULATION
TEST PARTICLES