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Velocity-space signatures of shock-drift acceleration at quasi-perpendicular collisionless shocks

Journal Article · · Physics of Plasmas
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0269528· OSTI ID:2586636
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (United States)
  2. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Washington, DC (United States)
  3. Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
  4. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
  5. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
  6. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)
  7. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The shock-drift acceleration of ions at quasi-perpendicular shocks is a well-known kinetic mechanism for the acceleration of a small fraction of incoming ions to high energy. Here, we use a suite of sixteen hybrid simulations of quasi-perpendicular collisionless shocks over the range of Alfvén Mach number 4.3 ≤ MA ≤ 15.8 (corresponding to a range of fast magnetosonic Mach numbers 2.6 ≤ Mf ≤ 9.4) and shock-normal angle 45°≤ θBn ≤ 90° to identify the velocity-space signature of shock-drift acceleration using the field-particle correlation technique. We show that the features of the ion velocity distribution in the shock foot and ramp regions can be clearly interpreted by analysis of the single-particle trajectory of a reflected ion through the full 3D-3V phase space. The characteristic features of the velocity-space signature of shock-drift acceleration remain qualitatively robust over the full parameter range of our simulations, providing a potential means for its identification using single-point spacecraft measurements. At higher Alfvén Mach numbers MA≳8 (Mf≳5), kinetic instabilities generate fluctuations of the electromagnetic fields within the shock transition region, leading to fluctuations in and smearing out of the resulting velocity-space signatures, but the signature remains generally robust and identifiable. The results on the shock-drift acceleration of ions presented here represent a novel means to determine more completely the partitioning of upstream bulk flow kinetic energy into plasma heating, particle acceleration, and electromagnetic fields in collisionless shocks.
Research Organization:
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-09CH11466
OSTI ID:
2586636
Journal Information:
Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 32; ISSN 1070-664X; ISSN 1089-7674
Publisher:
AIP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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