Physics of Weibel-Mediated Relativistic Collisionless Shocks

Phys Rev Lett. 2019 Jul 19;123(3):035101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.035101.

Abstract

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.