scholarly journals Magnetic Field Amplification by a Plasma Cavitation Instability in Relativistic Shock Precursors

2022 ◽  
Vol 924 (1) ◽  
pp. L12
Author(s):  
J. R. Peterson ◽  
S. Glenzer ◽  
F. Fiuza
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Beam Current ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Field Amplification ◽  
Relativistic Shocks ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cavitation Instability ◽  
Shock Precursor

Abstract Plasma streaming instabilities play an important role in magnetic field amplification and particle acceleration in relativistic shocks and their environments. However, in the far shock precursor region where accelerated particles constitute a highly relativistic and dilute beam, streaming instabilities typically become inefficient and operate at very small scales when compared to the gyroradii of the beam particles. We report on a plasma cavitation instability that is driven by dilute relativistic beams and can increase both the magnetic field strength and coherence scale by orders of magnitude to reach near-equipartition values with the beam energy density. This instability grows after the development of the Weibel instability and is associated with the asymmetric response of background leptons and ions to the beam current. The resulting net inductive electric field drives a strong energy asymmetry between positively and negatively charged beam species. Large-scale particle-in-cell simulations are used to verify analytical predictions for the growth and saturation level of the instability and indicate that it is robust over a wide range of conditions, including those associated with pair-loaded plasmas. These results can have important implications for the magnetization and structure of shocks in gamma-ray bursts, and more generally for magnetic field amplification and asymmetric scattering of relativistic charged particles in plasma astrophysical environments.

scholarly journals Constraining the magnetic field structure in collisionless relativistic shocks with a radio afterglow polarization upper limit in GW 170817

2019 ◽  
Vol 491 (4) ◽  
pp. 5815-5825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramandeep Gill ◽  
Jonathan Granot
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Ambient Medium ◽  
Radial Profile ◽  
Skin Depth ◽  
Relativistic Electrons ◽  
Collisionless Shocks ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Upper Limit ◽  
Relativistic Shocks

ABSTRACT Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow arises from a relativistic shock driven into the ambient medium, which generates tangled magnetic fields and accelerates relativistic electrons that radiate the observed synchrotron emission. In relativistic collisionless shocks the post-shock magnetic field $\boldsymbol {B}$ is produced by the two-stream and/or Weibel instabilities on plasma skin-depth scales (c/ωp), and is oriented predominantly within the shock plane (B⊥; transverse to the shock normal, $\hat{\boldsymbol {n}}_{\rm {sh}}$), and is often approximated to be completely within it ($B_\parallel \equiv \hat{\boldsymbol {n}}_{\rm {sh}}\, \cdot \, \boldsymbol {B}=0$). Current 2D/3D particle-in-cell simulations are limited to short time-scales and box sizes ≲104(c/ωp) ≪ R/Γsh much smaller than the shocked region’s comoving width, and hence cannot probe the asymptotic downstream $\boldsymbol {B}$ structure. We constrain the latter using the linear polarization upper limit, $\vert \Pi \vert \lt 12{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, on the radio afterglow of GW $170817$ / GRB 170817A. Afterglow polarization depends on the jet’s angular structure, our viewing angle, and the $\boldsymbol {B}$ structure. In GW $170817$ / GRB 170817A the latter can be tightly constrained since the former two are well-constrained by its exquisite observations. We model $\boldsymbol {B}$ as an isotropic field in 3D that is stretched along $\hat{\boldsymbol {n}}_{\rm {sh}}$ by a factor ξ ≡ $B_\parallel $/B⊥, whose initial value ξf ≡ $B_\parallel,$f/B⊥, f describes the field that survives downstream on plasma scales ≪R/Γsh. We calculate Π(ξf) by integrating over the entire shocked volume for a Gaussian or power-law core-dominated structured jet, with a local Blandford-McKee self-similar radial profile (used for evolving ξ downstream). We find that independent of the exact jet structure, $\boldsymbol {B}$ has a finite, but initially sub-dominant, parallel component: 0.57 ≲ ξf ≲ 0.89, making it less anisotropic. While this motivates numerical studies of the asymptotic $\boldsymbol {B}$ structure in relativistic collisionless shocks, it may be consistent with turbulence amplified magnetic field.

scholarly journals On electron acceleration by mildly-relativistic shocks: PIC simulations

2021 ◽  
Vol 2103 (1) ◽  
pp. 012009
Author(s):  
V I Romansky ◽  
A M Bykov ◽  
S M Osipov
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Electron Acceleration ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Relativistic Shocks ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Cell Modeling ◽  
Field Fluctuations ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Abstract Radio observations revealed a presence of relativistic supernovae - a class of objects intermediate between the regular supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. The typical Lorentz-factors of plasma flows in relativistic radio-bright supernovae were estimated to be about 1.5. Mildly relativistic shocks in electron-ion plasmas are known to efficiently accelerate radio-emitting electrons if the shock is subluminous. The inclination angle of the velocity of subluminous shock to the ambient magnetic field should be below a critical angle which depends on the Mach number and the plasma magnetization parameter. In this paper we present particle-in-cell modeling of electron acceleration by mildly-relativistic collisionless shock of different obliquity in a plasma with ratio of the magnetic energy to the bulk kinetic energy σ ≈ 0.004 which is of interest for the relativistic supernovae modeling. It was shown earlier that a development of the ion scale Bell-type instability in electron-ion relativistic shock may have a strong influence on the electron injection and acceleration. In the time period of about 1500 ω p i − 1 (ωpi is the ion plasma frequency) after the shock initialization the magnetic field fluctuations generated by Bell’s instability may significantly decreases number of accelerated electrons even in a sub-luminous shock. We study here the evolution of the electron spectra of subluminous shocks of different obliquity. This is important to for modeling of synchrothron spectra from relativistic supernovae.

scholarly journals Generation and decay of the magnetic field in collisionless shocks

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S324) ◽  
pp. 62-65
Author(s):  
Mikhail Garasev ◽  
Evgeny Derishev
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Energy ◽  
Magnetic Field Generation ◽  
Collisionless Shocks ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
Magnetic Field Energy ◽  
Relativistic Shocks ◽  
Continuous Injection ◽  
The Magnetic Field

AbstractWe present the results of numerical particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the magnetic field generation and decay in the upstream of collisionless shocks. We use the model, where the magnetic field in the incoming flow is generated by continuous injection of anisotropic electron-positron pairs. We found that the continuous injection of anisotropic plasma in the upstream of the shock-wave generates the large-scale, slowly decaying magnetic field that is later amplified during the passage of the shock front. In our simulations the magnetic field energy reached ~0.01 of the equipartition value, after that it slowly decays on the time scale proportional to the duration of the injection in the upstream. Thus, the magnetic field survives for a sufficiently long time, and supports efficient synchrotron radiation from relativistic shocks, e.g., in GRBs.

scholarly journals No-z Model for Magnetic Fields of Different Astrophysical Objects and Stability of the Solutions

Data ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Evgeny Mikhailov ◽  
Daniela Boneva ◽  
Maria Pashentseva
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Accretion Discs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Astrophysical Objects ◽  
Alpha Effect ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Magnetic Field

A wide range of astrophysical objects, such as the Sun, galaxies, stars, planets, accretion discs etc., have large-scale magnetic fields. Their generation is often based on the dynamo mechanism, which is connected with joint action of the alpha-effect and differential rotation. They compete with the turbulent diffusion. If the dynamo is intensive enough, the magnetic field grows, else it decays. The magnetic field evolution is described by Steenbeck—Krause—Raedler equations, which are quite difficult to be solved. So, for different objects, specific two-dimensional models are used. As for thin discs (this shape corresponds to galaxies and accretion discs), usually, no-z approximation is used. Some of the partial derivatives are changed by the algebraic expressions, and the solenoidality condition is taken into account as well. The field generation is restricted by the equipartition value and saturates if the field becomes comparable with it. From the point of view of mathematical physics, they can be characterized as stable points of the equations. The field can come to these values monotonously or have oscillations. It depends on the type of the stability of these points, whether it is a node or focus. Here, we study the stability of such points and give examples for astrophysical applications.

MAGNETIC FIELD AMPLIFICATION BY RELATIVISTIC SHOCKS IN AN INHOMOGENEOUS MEDIUM

2012 ◽  
Vol 08 ◽  
pp. 364-367
Author(s):  
YOSUKE MIZUNO ◽  
MARTIN POHL ◽  
JACEK NIEMIEC ◽  
BING ZHANG ◽  
KEN-ICHI NISHIKAWA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Inhomogeneous Medium ◽  
Magnetic Energy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Filamentary Structure ◽  
Field Amplification ◽  
Relativistic Shocks ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

We perform two-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of a mildly relativistic shock propagating through an inhomogeneous medium. We show that the postshock region becomes turbulent owing to preshock density inhomogeneity, and the magnetic field is strongly amplified due to the stretching and folding of field lines in the turbulent velocity field. The amplified magnetic field evolves into a filamentary structure in two-dimensional simulations. The magnetic energy spectrum is flatter than the Kolmogorov spectrum and indicates that the so-called small-scale dynamo is occurring in the postshock region. We also find that the amplitude of magnetic-field amplification depends on the direction of the mean preshock magnetic field.

Power spectral density of magnetic field and ion velocity fluctuations from inertial to kinetic ranges

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Šafránková ◽  
Zdeněk Němeček ◽  
František Němec ◽  
Luca Franci ◽  
Alexander Pitňa
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Collisionless Plasma ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Particle In Cell ◽  
High Reynolds ◽  
Experimental Findings ◽  
Turbulent Cascade

<p>The solar wind is a unique laboratory to study the turbulent processes occurring in a collisionless plasma with high Reynolds numbers. A turbulent cascade—the process that transfers the free energy contained within the large scale fluctuations into the smaller ones—is believed to be one of the most important mechanisms responsible for heating of the solar corona and solar wind. The paper analyzes power spectra of solar wind velocity, density and magnetic field fluctuations that are computed in the frequency range around the break between inertial and kinetic scales. The study uses measurements of the Bright Monitor of the Solar Wind (BMSW) on board the Spektr-R spacecraft with a time resolution of 32 ms complemented with 10 Hz magnetic field observations from the Wind spacecraft propagated to the Spektr-R location. The statistics based on more than 42,000 individual spectra show that: (1) the spectra of both quantities can be fitted by two (three in the case of the density) power-law segments; (2) the median slopes of parallel and perpendicular fluctuation velocity and magnetic field components are different; (3) the break between MHD and kinetic scales as well as the slopes are mainly controlled by the ion beta parameter. These experimental results are compared with high-resolution 2D hybrid particle-in-cell simulations, where the electrons are considered to be a massless, charge-neutralizing fluid with a constant temperature, whereas the ions are described as macroparticles representing portions of their distribution function. In spite of several limitations (lack of the electron kinetics, lower dimensionality), the model results agree well with the experimental findings. Finally, we discuss differences between observations and simulations in relation to the role of important physical parameters in determining the properties of the turbulent cascade.</p>

scholarly journals The Formation of Discontinuities in Gas Flows in the ISM and its Relation to the Galactic Synchrotron Radio Emission

1990 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 159-162
Author(s):  
V.G. Berman ◽  
L.S. Marochnik ◽  
Yu.N. Mishurov ◽  
A.A. Suchkov
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Cosmic Rays ◽  
Radio Emission ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Field Energy ◽  
Gas Flows ◽  
Interstellar Gas ◽  
Gas Density ◽  
Magnetic Field Energy ◽  
Wide Range

We show that large–scale motions of the interstellar gas, such as those associated with galactic density waves, easily develop, over a wide range of scales, shocks and discontinuities which are expected to generate turbulence. The latter is supposed to evoke diffusion of magnetic fields and cosmic rays on scales down to a few parsecs. We suggest that these processes may be of major importance in discussions of interconnections between the observed radio emission of the disks of spiral galaxies and the gas density distribution within them. In particular, we predict that the density of cosmic rays and magnetic field energy must be much less contrasted (on scales of ~1 pc and up to the scales of galactic shocks) than the gas density, hence the synchrotron radio emission is not as contrasted as is predicted under the hypothesis of a fully frozen-in magnetic field.

scholarly journals 2D and 3D turbulent magnetic reconnection

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (H15) ◽  
pp. 434-435
Author(s):  
A. Lazarian ◽  
G. Kowal ◽  
E. Vishniac ◽  
K. Kulpa-Dubel ◽  
K. Otmianowska-Mazur
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Reconnection ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Turnover Time ◽  
Turbulent Fluid ◽  
Astrophysical Objects ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
The Magnetic Field

AbstractA magnetic field embedded in a perfectly conducting fluid preserves its topology for all times. Although ionized astrophysical objects, like stars and galactic disks, are almost perfectly conducting, they show indications of changes in topology, magnetic reconnection, on dynamical time scales. Reconnection can be observed directly in the solar corona, but can also be inferred from the existence of large scale dynamo activity inside stellar interiors. Solar flares and gamma ray busts are usually associated with magnetic reconnection. Previous work has concentrated on showing how reconnection can be rapid in plasmas with very small collision rates. Here we present numerical evidence, based on three dimensional simulations, that reconnection in a turbulent fluid occurs at a speed comparable to the rms velocity of the turbulence, regardless of the value of the resistivity. In particular, this is true for turbulent pressures much weaker than the magnetic field pressure so that the magnetic field lines are only slightly bent by the turbulence. These results are consistent with the proposal by Lazarian & Vishniac (1999) that reconnection is controlled by the stochastic diffusion of magnetic field lines, which produces a broad outflow of plasma from the reconnection zone. This work implies that reconnection in a turbulent fluid typically takes place in approximately a single eddy turnover time, with broad implications for dynamo activity and particle acceleration throughout the universe. In contrast, the reconnection in 2D configurations in the presence of turbulence depends on resistivity, i.e. is slow.

scholarly journals Reading M87's DNA: A Double Helix Revealing a Large-scale Helical Magnetic Field

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (1) ◽  
pp. L5
Author(s):  
Alice Pasetto ◽  
Carlos Carrasco-González ◽  
José L. Gómez ◽  
José-Maria Martí ◽  
Manel Perucho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Double Helix ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Polarization Degree ◽  
Very Large Array ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Helical Magnetic Field ◽  
Helical Configuration ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Abstract We present unprecedented high-fidelity radio images of the M87 jet. We analyzed Jansky Very Large Array broadband full-polarization radio data from 4 to 18 GHz. The observations were taken with the most extended configuration (A configuration), which allows the study of the emission of the jet up to kiloparsec scales with a linear resolution of ∼10 pc. The high sensitivity and resolution of our data allow us to resolve the jet width. We confirm a double-helix morphology of the jet material between ∼300 pc and ∼1 kpc. We found a gradient of the polarization degree with a minimum at the projected axis and maxima at the jet edges and a gradient in the Faraday depth with opposite signs at the jet edges. We also found that the behavior of the polarization properties along the wide range of frequencies is consistent with internal Faraday depolarization. All of these characteristics strongly support the presence of a helical magnetic field in the M87 jet up to 1 kpc from the central black hole, although the jet is most likely particle-dominated at these large scales. Therefore, we propose a plausible scenario in which the helical configuration of the magnetic field has been maintained to large scales thanks to the presence of Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities.

scholarly journals The role of the sonic scale in the growth of magnetic field in compressible turbulence

2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (3) ◽  
pp. 4400-4408
Author(s):  
Itzhak Fouxon ◽  
Michael Mond
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Compressible Turbulence ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Integral Scale ◽  
Time Model ◽  
Turbulent Eddies ◽  
Field Amplification ◽  
The Magnetic Field

ABSTRACT We study the growth of small fluctuations of magnetic field in supersonic turbulence, the small-scale dynamo. The growth is due to the smallest and fastest turbulent eddies above the resistive scale. We observe that for supersonic turbulence these eddies are localized below the sonic scale ls, defined as the scale where the typical velocity of the turbulent eddies equals the speed of sound, and are therefore effectively incompressible. All previous studies have ignored the existence of the sonic scale and consequently treated the entire inertial range as made up of compressible eddies. However, at large Mach numbers ls is much smaller than the integral scale of the turbulence so the fastest growing mode of the magnetic field belongs to small-scale incompressible turbulence. We determine this mode and the associated growth rate numerically with the aid of a white noise in time model of turbulence whose approximate validity for the description of the Navier–Stokes turbulence is explained. For that purpose, we introduce a new non-dimensional number Rsm that we name the magnetosonic Reynolds number that describes the division of the magnetic field amplification range between small-scale incompressible eddies and large-scale supersonic ones. We show that indeed, as Rsm grows (which means that the incompressible eddies occupy a larger portion of the magnetic field amplification range) the growth rate of the fastest growing mode increases, while the spatial distribution of the growing magnetic field shifts to smaller scales. Our result implies the existence of small-scale dynamo for compressible homogeneous turbulence.

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