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We analyse the generation of kinetic instabilities and their effect on the energization of ions in non-relativistic, oblique collisionless shocks using a 3D-3V (three spatial with three velocity components) simulation by dHybridR , a hybrid particle-in-cell code. At sufficiently high Mach number, quasi-perpendicular and oblique shocks can experience rippling of the shock surface caused by kinetic instabilities arising from free energy in the ion velocity distribution due to the combination of the incoming ion beam and the population of ions reflected at the shock front. To understand the role of the ripple on particle energization, we devise a new instability isolation method to identify the unstable modes underlying the ripple and interpret the results in terms of the governing kinetic instability. We generate velocity-space signatures using the field–particle correlation technique to look at energy transfer in phase space from the isolated instability driving the shock ripple, providing a viewpoint on the different dynamics of distinct populations of ions in phase space. Together, the field–particle correlation technique and our new instability isolation method provide a unique viewpoint on the different dynamics of distinct populations of ions in phase space and allow us to completely characterize the energetics of the collisionless shock under investigation.
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Phase-space Energization of Ions in Oblique Shocks
Abstract Examining energization of kinetic plasmas in phase space is a growing topic of interest, owing to the wealth of data in phase space compared to traditional bulk energization diagnostics. Via the field-particle correlation (FPC) technique and using multiple means of numerically integrating the plasma kinetic equation, we have studied the energization of ions in phase space within oblique collisionless shocks. The perspective afforded to us with this analysis in phase space allows us to characterize distinct populations of energized ions. In particular, we focus on ions that reflect multiple times off the shock front through shock-drift acceleration, and how to distinguish these different reflected populations in phase space using the FPC technique. We further extend our analysis to simulations of three-dimensional shocks undergoing more complicated dynamics, such as shock ripple, to demonstrate the ability to recover the phase-space signatures of this energization process in a more general system. This work thus extends previous applications of the FPC technique to more realistic collisionless shock environments, providing stronger evidence of the technique’s utility for simulation, laboratory, and spacecraft analysis.
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- PAR ID:
- 10396022
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.3847
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 944
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 15
- Size(s):
- Article No. 15
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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