Physics of Weibel-Mediated Relativistic Collisionless Shocks
Résumé
We develop a comprehensive theoretical model of relativistic collisionless pair shocks mediated by the current filamentation instability. We notably characterize the noninertial frame in which this instability is of a mostly magnetic nature, and describe at a microscopic level the deceleration and heating of the incoming background plasma through its collisionless interaction with the electromagnetic turbulence. Our model compares well to large-scale 2D3V particle-in-cell simulations, and provides an important touchstone for the phenomenology of such plasma systems.
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