Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence
Alfvénic turbulence is an effective mechanism for particle acceleration in strongly magnetized, relativistic plasma. In this study, we investigate a scenario where turbulent plasma is influenced by a strong guide magnetic field, resulting in highly anisotropic turbulent fluctuations. In such cases,...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add147 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849717790279204864 |
|---|---|
| author | Cristian Vega Stanislav Boldyrev Vadim Roytershteyn |
| author_facet | Cristian Vega Stanislav Boldyrev Vadim Roytershteyn |
| author_sort | Cristian Vega |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alfvénic turbulence is an effective mechanism for particle acceleration in strongly magnetized, relativistic plasma. In this study, we investigate a scenario where turbulent plasma is influenced by a strong guide magnetic field, resulting in highly anisotropic turbulent fluctuations. In such cases, the magnetic moments of particles are conserved, which means that acceleration can only occur along the direction of the magnetic field. Consistent with previous analytic studies, we find through particle-in-cell simulations of magnetically dominated pair plasma that the momenta of accelerated particles are closely aligned with the magnetic field lines. Notably, the alignment angle decreases as particle energy increases, potentially limited only by the inherent curvature and gradients of the turbulent magnetic fluctuations. This finding has significant implications for interpreting the synchrotron radiation emitted by highly accelerated particles. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b10e866b60ac44579d4d62ddc4298788 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-b10e866b60ac44579d4d62ddc42987882025-08-20T03:12:32ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01985223110.3847/1538-4357/add147Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic TurbulenceCristian Vega0Stanislav Boldyrev1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6252-5169Vadim Roytershteyn2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1745-7587Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin at Madison , Madison, WI 53706, USA ; csvega@wisc.eduDepartment of Physics, University of Wisconsin at Madison , Madison, WI 53706, USA ; csvega@wisc.edu; Center for Space Plasma Physics , Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USACenter for Space Plasma Physics , Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USAAlfvénic turbulence is an effective mechanism for particle acceleration in strongly magnetized, relativistic plasma. In this study, we investigate a scenario where turbulent plasma is influenced by a strong guide magnetic field, resulting in highly anisotropic turbulent fluctuations. In such cases, the magnetic moments of particles are conserved, which means that acceleration can only occur along the direction of the magnetic field. Consistent with previous analytic studies, we find through particle-in-cell simulations of magnetically dominated pair plasma that the momenta of accelerated particles are closely aligned with the magnetic field lines. Notably, the alignment angle decreases as particle energy increases, potentially limited only by the inherent curvature and gradients of the turbulent magnetic fluctuations. This finding has significant implications for interpreting the synchrotron radiation emitted by highly accelerated particles.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add147Plasma physicsPlasma astrophysicsHigh energy astrophysics |
| spellingShingle | Cristian Vega Stanislav Boldyrev Vadim Roytershteyn Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence The Astrophysical Journal Plasma physics Plasma astrophysics High energy astrophysics |
| title | Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_full | Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_fullStr | Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_short | Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence |
| title_sort | anisotropic particle acceleration in alfvenic turbulence |
| topic | Plasma physics Plasma astrophysics High energy astrophysics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/add147 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cristianvega anisotropicparticleaccelerationinalfvenicturbulence AT stanislavboldyrev anisotropicparticleaccelerationinalfvenicturbulence AT vadimroytershteyn anisotropicparticleaccelerationinalfvenicturbulence |