Ion energization in perpendicular collisionless shock driven by laboratory-scale colliding plasmas
Magnetized collisionless shocks drive particle acceleration broadly in space and astrophysics. We perform the first large-scale particle-in-cell simulations with realistic laboratory parameters (density, temperature, and velocity) to investigate the magnetized shock and of the associated ion acceler...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Physical Society
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Physical Review Research |
| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.013267 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Magnetized collisionless shocks drive particle acceleration broadly in space and astrophysics. We perform the first large-scale particle-in-cell simulations with realistic laboratory parameters (density, temperature, and velocity) to investigate the magnetized shock and of the associated ion acceleration in head-on colliding plasmas. It is shown that a perpendicular collisionless shock is formed with about fourfold density jump when two plasma flows collide. This shock is also characterized by a rapid increase of neutron yield and alteration of neutron velocity shift with respect to the emitted angle, both of which are prompted by the beam-beam nuclear reactions between upstream injected deuterons and ones reflected by the shock. Distinct from the shocks arising from the interaction of a piston with a magnetized ambient plasma, the self-generated magnetic field in this colliding plasmas experiences a significant amplification due to the intensifying diamagnetic current. Moreover, we find that ions, regardless of whether they pass through or are reflected by the shock, can gain energy by the convective electric field, generating a power-law energy spectrum. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2643-1564 |