Departure from MHD prescriptions in shock formation over a guiding magnetic fieldShow others and affiliations
2017 (English)In: Laser and particle beams (Print), ISSN 0263-0346, E-ISSN 1469-803X, Vol. 35, p. 513-519Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
In plasmas where the mean-free-path is much larger than the size of the system, shock waves can arise with a front much shorter than the mean-free path. These so-called "collisionless shocks" are mediated y collective plasma interactions. Studies conducted so far on these shocks found that although binary collisions are absent, the distribution functions are thermalized downstream by scattering on the fields, so that magnetohydrodynamic prescriptions may apply. Here we show a clear departure from this pattern in the case of Weibel shocks forming over a flow-aligned magnetic field. A micro-physical analysis of the particle motion in the Weibel filaments shows how they become unable to trap the flow in the presence of too strong a field, inhibiting the mechanism of shock formation. Particle-in-cell simulations confirm these results.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cambridge University Press, 2017. Vol. 35, p. 513-519
Keywords [en]
plasma shock, kinetic theory, PIC simulation
National Category
Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-140164DOI: 10.1017/S0263034617000519ISI: 000409042200017OAI: oai:DiVA.org:liu-140164DiVA, id: diva2:1137922
Note
Funding agencies: European Union Seventh Framework Program [618499]; NASA [NNX12AO83G, TCAN NNX14AB47G, NAS8-03060]; NASA - Chandra X-ray Center [PF4-150126]; [ENE2013-45661-C2-1-P]; [PEII-2014-008-P]; [ANR-14-CE33-0019 MACH]; [SNIC2015-1-305]
2017-09-022017-09-022017-11-03Bibliographically approved