An official website of the United States government
Abstract In a collisionless plasma, the energy distribution function of plasma particles can be strongly affected by turbulence. In particular, it can develop a nonthermal power-law tail at high energies. We argue that turbulence with initially relativistically strong magnetic perturbations (magnetization parameter σ ≫ 1) quickly evolves into a state with ultrarelativistic plasma temperature but mildly relativistic turbulent fluctuations. We present a phenomenological and numerical study suggesting that in this case, the exponent α in the power-law particle-energy distribution function, f ( γ ) d γ ∝ γ − α d γ , depends on magnetic compressibility of turbulence. Our analytic prediction for the scaling exponent α is in good agreement with the numerical results.
more »
« less
Universal Nonthermal Power-law Distribution Functions from the Self-consistent Evolution of Collisionless Electrostatic Plasmas
Abstract Collisionless systems often exhibit nonthermal power-law tails in their distribution functions. Interestingly, collisionless plasmas in various physical scenarios (e.g., the ion population of the solar wind) feature av−5tail in their velocity (v) distribution, whose origin has been a long-standing puzzle. We show this power-law tail to be a natural outcome of the collisionless relaxation of driven electrostatic plasmas. Using a quasi-linear analysis of the perturbed Vlasov–Poisson equations, we show that the coarse-grained mean distribution function (DF),f0, follows a quasi-linear diffusion equation with a diffusion coefficientD(v) that depends onvthrough the plasma dielectric constant. If the plasma is isotropically forced on scales larger than the Debye length with a white-noise-like electric field,D(v) ∼v4forσ<v<ωP/k, withσthe thermal velocity,ωPthe plasma frequency, andkthe characteristic wavenumber of the perturbation; the corresponding quasi-steady-statef0develops av−(d+ 2)tail inddimensions (v−5tail in 3D), while the energy (E) distribution develops anE−2tail independent of dimensionality. Any redness of the noise only alters the scaling in the highvend. Nonresonant particles moving slower than the phase velocity of the plasma waves (ωP/k) experience a Debye-screened electric field, and significantly less (power-law suppressed) acceleration than the near-resonant particles. Thus, a Maxwellian DF develops a power-law tail, while its core (v<σ) eventually also heats up but over a much longer timescale. We definitively show that self-consistency (ignored in test-particle treatments) is crucial for the emergence of the universalv−5tail.
more »
« less
- PAR ID:
- 10598736
- Publisher / Repository:
- ApJ
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 977
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 91
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Collisionless low-Mach-number shocks are abundant in astrophysical and space plasma environments, exhibiting complex wave activity and wave–particle interactions. In this paper, we present 2D Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations of quasi-perpendicular nonrelativistic (vsh≈ (5500–22000) km s−1) low-Mach-number shocks, with a specific focus on studying electrostatic waves in the shock ramp and precursor regions. In these shocks, an ion-scale oblique whistler wave creates a configuration with two hot counterstreaming electron beams, which drive unstable electron acoustic waves (EAWs) that can turn into electrostatic solitary waves (ESWs) at the late stage of their evolution. By conducting simulations with periodic boundaries, we show that the EAW properties agree with linear dispersion analysis. The characteristics of ESWs in shock simulations, including their wavelength and amplitude, depend on the shock velocity. When extrapolated to shocks with realistic velocities (vsh≈ 300 km s−1), the ESW wavelength is reduced to one-tenth of the electron skin depth and the ESW amplitude is anticipated to surpass that of the quasi-static electric field by more than a factor of 100. These theoretical predictions may explain a discrepancy, between PIC and satellite measurements, in the relative amplitude of high- and low-frequency electric field fluctuations.more » « less
-
Let (Mn,g) be a complete simply connectedn-dimensional Riemannian manifold with curvature bounds Sectg≤ κ for κ ≤ 0 and Ricg≥ (n− 1)KgforK≤ 0. We prove that for any bounded domain Ω ⊂Mnwith diameterdand Lipschitz boundary, if Ω* is a geodesic ball in the simply connected space form with constant sectional curvature κ enclosing the same volume as Ω, then σ1(Ω) ≤Cσ1(Ω*), where σ1(Ω) and σ1(Ω*) denote the first nonzero Steklov eigenvalues of Ω and Ω* respectively, andC=C(n, κ,K,d) is an explicit constant. When κ =K, we haveC= 1 and recover the Brock–Weinstock inequality, asserting that geodesic balls uniquely maximize the first nonzero Steklov eigenvalue among domains of the same volume, in Euclidean space and the hyperbolic space.more » « less
-
Abstract Relativistic magnetic turbulence has been proposed as a process for producing nonthermal particles in high-energy astrophysics. The particle energization may be contributed by both magnetic reconnection and turbulent fluctuations, but their interplay is poorly understood. It has been suggested that during magnetic reconnection the parallel electric field dominates the particle acceleration up to the lower bound of the power-law particle spectrum, but recent studies show that electric fields perpendicular to the magnetic field can play an important, if not dominant role. In this study, we carry out two-dimensional fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of magnetically dominated decaying turbulence in a relativistic pair plasma. For a fixed magnetization parameterσ0 = 20, we find that the injection energyεinjconverges with increasing domain size toεinj ≃ 10mec2. In contrast, the power-law index, the cut-off energy, and the power-law extent increase steadily with domain size. We trace a large number of particles and evaluate the contributions of the work done by the parallel (W∥) and perpendicular (W⊥) electric fields during both the injection phase and the postinjection phase. We find that during the injection phase, theW⊥contribution increases with domain size, suggesting that it may eventually dominate injection for a sufficiently large domain. In contrast, on average, both components contribute equally during the postinjection phase, insensitive to the domain size. For high energy (ε ≫ εinj) particles,W⊥dominates the subsequent energization. These findings may improve our understanding of nonthermal particles and their emissions in astrophysical plasmas.more » « less
-
Mauel, Michael E (Ed.)This study explores the generation of electrostatic (ES) electron Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (EKHI) in collisionless plasma with a step-function electron velocity shear akin to that developed in the electron diffusion region in magnetic reconnection. In incompressible plasma, ES EKHI does not arise in any velocity shear profile due to the decoupling of the electric potential from the electron momentum equation. Instead, a fluid-like Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) can arise. However, in compressible plasma, the compressibility couples the electric potential with the electron dynamics, leading to the emergence of a new ES mode EKHI on Debye length λDe, accompanied by the co-generation of an electron acoustic-like wave. The minimum threshold of ES EKHI is ΔU>2cse, i.e., the electron velocity shear is larger than twice the electron acoustic speed cse. The corresponding growth rate is Im(ω)=((ΔU/cse)2−4)1/2ωpe, where ωpe is the electron plasma frequency.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad91a1
