skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Relativistic, perpendicular shocks in electron-positron plasmas

Abstract

One-dimensional particle-in-cell plasma simulations are used to examine the mechanical structure and thermalization properties of collisionless relativistic shock waves in electron-positron plasmas. Shocks propagating perpendicularly to the magnetic field direction are considered. It is shown that these shock waves exist, and that they are completely parameterized by the ratio of the upstream Poynting flux to the upstream kinetic energy flux. The way in which the Rankine-Hugoniot shock jump conditions are modified by the presence of wave fluctuations is shown, and they are used to provide a macroscopic description of these collisionless shock flows. The results of a 2D simulation that demonstrates the generality of these results beyond the assumption of the 1D case are discussed. It is suggested that the thermalization mechanism is the formation of a synchrotron maser by the coherently reflected particles in the shock front. Because the downstream medium is thermalized, it is argued that perpendicular shocks in pure electron-positron plasmas are not candidates as nonthermal particle accelerators. 40 refs.

Authors:
; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
7287708
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal; (United States)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 391:1; Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; COLLISIONLESS PLASMA; SHOCK WAVES; ACCRETION DISKS; BLACK HOLES; COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION; COSMIC RADIO SOURCES; ELECTRON PAIRS; GALAXY NUCLEI; INTERSTELLAR MAGNETIC FIELDS; MASERS; PLASMA; RELATIVISTIC RANGE; SUPERNOVA REMNANTS; THERMALIZATION; WAVE PROPAGATION; AMPLIFIERS; ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT; ENERGY RANGE; EQUIPMENT; MAGNETIC FIELDS; MICROWAVE AMPLIFIERS; MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT; SIMULATION; SLOWING-DOWN; 661300* - Other Aspects of Physical Science- (1992-)

Citation Formats

Gallant, Y A, Hoshino, Masahiro, Langdon, A B, Arons, J, and Max, C E. Relativistic, perpendicular shocks in electron-positron plasmas. United States: N. p., 1992. Web. doi:10.1086/171326.
Gallant, Y A, Hoshino, Masahiro, Langdon, A B, Arons, J, & Max, C E. Relativistic, perpendicular shocks in electron-positron plasmas. United States. https://doi.org/10.1086/171326
Gallant, Y A, Hoshino, Masahiro, Langdon, A B, Arons, J, and Max, C E. 1992. "Relativistic, perpendicular shocks in electron-positron plasmas". United States. https://doi.org/10.1086/171326.
@article{osti_7287708,
title = {Relativistic, perpendicular shocks in electron-positron plasmas},
author = {Gallant, Y A and Hoshino, Masahiro and Langdon, A B and Arons, J and Max, C E},
abstractNote = {One-dimensional particle-in-cell plasma simulations are used to examine the mechanical structure and thermalization properties of collisionless relativistic shock waves in electron-positron plasmas. Shocks propagating perpendicularly to the magnetic field direction are considered. It is shown that these shock waves exist, and that they are completely parameterized by the ratio of the upstream Poynting flux to the upstream kinetic energy flux. The way in which the Rankine-Hugoniot shock jump conditions are modified by the presence of wave fluctuations is shown, and they are used to provide a macroscopic description of these collisionless shock flows. The results of a 2D simulation that demonstrates the generality of these results beyond the assumption of the 1D case are discussed. It is suggested that the thermalization mechanism is the formation of a synchrotron maser by the coherently reflected particles in the shock front. Because the downstream medium is thermalized, it is argued that perpendicular shocks in pure electron-positron plasmas are not candidates as nonthermal particle accelerators. 40 refs.},
doi = {10.1086/171326},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/7287708}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal; (United States)},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = ,
volume = 391:1,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992},
month = {Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992}
}