We present simulations of magnetized astrophysical shocks taking into account the interplay between the thermal plasma of the shock and supra-thermal particles. Such interaction is depicted by combining a grid-based magneto-hydrodynamics description of the thermal fluid with particle in cell techniques devoted to the dynamics of supra-thermal particles. This approach, which incorporates the use of adaptive mesh refinement features, is potentially a key to simulate astrophysical systems on spatial scales that are beyond the reach of pure particle-in-cell simulations. We consider in this study non-relativistic shocks with various Alfvenic Mach numbers and magnetic field obliquity. We recover all the features of both magnetic field amplification and particle acceleration from previous studies when the magnetic field is parallel to the normal to the shock. In contrast with previous particle-in-cell-hybrid simulations, we find that particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification also occur when the magnetic field is oblique to the normal to the shock but on larger timescales than in the parallel case. We show that in our simulations, the supra-thermal particles are experiencing acceleration thanks to a pre-heating process of the particle similar to a shock drift acceleration leading to the corrugation of the shock front. Such oscillations of the shock front and the magnetic field locally help the particles to enter the upstream region and to initiate a non-resonant streaming instability and finally to induce diffuse particle acceleration.
Astrophysical accretion is arguably the most prevalent physical process in the Universe; it occurs during the birth and death of individual stars and plays a pivotal role in the evolution of entire galaxies. Accretion onto a black hole, in particular, is also the most efficient mechanism known in nature, converting up to 40% of accreting rest mass energy into spectacular forms such as high-energy (X-ray and gamma-ray) emission and relativistic jets. Whilst magnetic fields are thought to be ultimately responsible for these phenomena, our understanding of the microphysics of MHD turbulence in ac…
The amplification and maintenance of the observed magnetic fields in the ICM are usually attributed to the turbulent dynamo action. This is generally derived employing a collisional MHD model. However, in the ICM the ion mean free path between collisions is of the order of the dynamical scales, thus requiring a collisionless MHD description. Unlike collisional MHD simulations, our study uses an anisotropic plasma pressure with respect to the direction of the local magnetic field, which brings the plasma within a parameter space where collisionless instabilities should take place. Within the ad…
A method for implementing cylindrical coordinates in the Athena magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code is described. The extension follows the approach of Athena's original developers and has been designed to alter the existing Cartesian-coordinates code as minimally and transparently as possible. The numerical equations in cylindrical coordinates are formulated to maintain consistency with constrained transport, a central feature of the Athena algorithm, while making use of previously implemented code modules such as the Riemann solvers. Angular-momentum transport, which is critical in astrophysical…
Nonresonant current instability was identified by Bell (2004) as an important mechanism for magnetic field amplification in supernova remnants. In this paper we focus on studying the nonlinear stage of this instability using the incompressible MHD formulation. We demonstrate that the evolution of magnetic turbulence driven by the Bell instability resembles turbulence driven on large scales. More importantly, we demonstrate that the energy-containing scale for magnetic fields is proportional to the square root of magnetic energy density. Given the observational constraints of the possible field…
It is well-known that magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is ubiquitous in astrophysical environments. The correct understanding of the fundamental properties of MHD turbulence is a prerequisite for revealing many key astrophysical processes. The development of observation-based measurement techniques has significantly promoted MHD turbulence theory and its implications in astrophysics. After describing the modern understanding of MHD turbulence based on theoretical analysis and direct numerical simulations, we review recent developments related to synchrotron fluctuation techniques. Specific…
We numerically investigate the generation of a magnetic field in a protostellar disc via an $αΩ$-dynamo and the resulting magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) driven outflows. We find that for small values of the dimensionless dynamo parameter $α_d$ the poloidal field grows exponentially at a rate $σ\propto Ω_K \sqrt{α_d}$, before saturating to a value $\propto \sqrt{α_d}$. The dynamo excites dipole and octupole modes, but quadrupole modes are suppressed, because of the symmetries of the seed field. Initial seed fields too weak to launch MHD outflows are found to grow sufficiently to launch winds with ob…
Astrophysical fluids are turbulent, magnetized and frequently partially ionized. As an example of astrophysical turbulence, the interstellar turbulence extends over a remarkably large range of spatial scales and participates in key astrophysical processes happening in different ranges of scales. A significant progress has been achieved in the understanding of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence since the turn of the century, and this enables us to better describe turbulence in magnetized and partially ionized plasmas. In fact, the modern revolutionized picture of the MHD turbulence physic…
Relativistic astrophysical phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and active galactic nuclei often require long-lived strong magnetic field. Here, we report on three-dimensional special-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to explore the amplification and decay of macroscopic turbulence dynamo excited by the so-called Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI; a Rayleigh-Taylor type instability). This instability is an inevitable outcome of interactions between shock and ambient density fluctuations. We find that the magnetic energy grows exponentially in a few eddy turnover times, a…
Collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in the Universe and often associated with strong magnetic field. Here we use large-scale particle-in-cell simulations of non-relativistic perpendicular shocks in the high-Mach-number regime to study the amplification of magnetic field within shocks. The magnetic field is amplified at the shock transition due to the ion-ion two-stream Weibel instability. The normalized magnetic-field strength strongly correlates with the Alfvénic Mach number. Mock spacecraft measurements derived from PIC simulations are fully consistent with those taken in-situ at Saturn's bo…
We present results of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of jet formation and propagation, discussing a variety of astrophysical setups. In the first approach we consider simulations of relativistic MHD jet formation, considering jets launched from the surface of a Keplerian disk, demonstrating numerically - for the first time - the self-collimating ability of relativistic MHD jets. We obtain Lorentz factors up to about 10 while acquiring a high degree of collimation of about 1 degree. We then present synchrotron maps calculated from the intrinsic jet structure derived from the MHD jet form…
We use analytic estimates and numerical simulations of test particles interacting with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence to show that subsonic MHD turbulence produces efficient second-order Fermi acceleration of relativistic particles. This acceleration is not well-described by standard quasi-linear theory but is a consequence of resonance broadening of wave-particle interactions in MHD turbulence. We provide momentum diffusion coefficients that can be used for astrophysical and heliospheric applications and discuss the implications of our results for accretion flows onto black holes. In pa…
High resolution radio imaging of AGN have revealed that some sources present motion of superluminal knots and transverse stratification of their jet. Recent observational projects have provided new observational constraints on the central region of rotating black holes in AGN, suggesting that there is an inner- or spine-jet surrounded by a disk wind. This relativistic spine-jet is likely to be composed of electron - positron pairs extracting energy from the black hole. In this article we present an extension and generalization to relativistic jets in Kerr metric of the meridional self similar …
Pulsars out of their parent SNR directly interact with the ISM producing so called Bow-Shock Pulsar Wind Nebulae, the relativistic equivalents of the heliosphere/heliotail system. These have been directly observed from Radio to X-ray, and are found also associated to TeV halos, with a large variety of morphologies. They offer a unique environment where the pulsar wind can be studied by modelling its interaction with the surrounding ambient medium, in a fashion that is different/complementary from the canonical Plerions. These systems have also been suggested as the possible origin of the posit…
FISH is a fast and simple ideal magneto-hydrodynamics code that scales to ~10 000 processes for a Cartesian computational domain of ~1000^3 cells. The simplicity of FISH has been achieved by the rigorous application of the operator splitting technique, while second order accuracy is maintained by the symmetric ordering of the operators. Between directional sweeps, the three-dimensional data is rotated in memory so that the sweep is always performed in a cache-efficient way along the direction of contiguous memory. Hence, the code only requires a one-dimensional description of the conservation …
Shocks waves are a ubiquitous feature of many astrophysical plasma systems, and an important process for energy dissipation and transfer. The physics of these shock waves are frequently treated/modeled as a collisional, fluid MHD discontinuity, despite the fact that many shocks occur in the collisionless regime. In light of this, using fully kinetic, 3D simulations of non-relativistic, parallel propagating collisionless shocks comprised of electron-positron plasma, we detail the deviation of collisionless shocks form MHD predictions for varying magnetization/Alfvénic Mach numbers, with particu…
This review aims at providing an up-to-date status and a general introduction to the subject of the numerical study of energetic particle acceleration and transport in turbulent astrophysical flows. The subject is also complemented by a short overview of recent progresses obtained in the domain of laser plasma experiments. We review the main physical processes at the heart of the production of a non-thermal distribution in both Newtonian and relativistic astrophysical flows, namely the first and second order Fermi acceleration processes. We also discuss shock drift and surfing acceleration, tw…
By performing a global magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulation for the Milky Way with an axisymmetric gravitational potential, we propose that spatially dependent amplification of magnetic fields possibly explains the observed noncircular motion of the gas in the Galactic centre (GC) region. The radial distribution of the rotation frequency in the bulge region is not monotonic in general. The amplification of the magnetic field is enhanced in regions with stronger differential rotation, because magnetorotational instability and field-line stretching are more effective. The strength of the ampli…
To study phenomena of plasmas around rotating black holes, we have derived a set of 3+1 formalism of generalized general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) equations. Especially, we investigated general relativistic phenomena with respect to the Ohm's law. We confirmed the electromotive force due to the gravitation, centrifugal force, and frame-dragging effect in plasmas near the black holes. These effects are significant only in the local small-scale phenomena compared to the scale of astrophysical objects. We discuss the possibility of magnetic reconnection, which is triggered by one o…
Magnetic fields are believed to play an essential role in astrophysical jets with observations suggesting the presence of helical magnetic fields. Here, we present three-dimensional (3D) ideal MHD simulationsof the Caltech plasma jet experiment using a magnetic tower scenario as the baseline model. Magnetic fields consist of an initially localized dipole-like poloidal component and a toroidal component that is continuously being injected into the domain. This flux injection mimics the poloidal currents driven by the anode-cathode voltage drop in the experiment. The injected toroidal field stre…
Cosmic ray (CR) currents through magnetised plasma drive strong instabilities producing amplification of the magnetic field. This amplification helps explain the CR energy spectrum as well as observations of supernova remnants and radio galaxy hot spots. Using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations, we study the behaviour of the non-resonant hybrid (NRH) instability (also known as the Bell instability) in the case of CR currents perpendicular and parallel to the initial magnetic field. We demonstrate that extending simulations of the perpendicular case to 3D reveals a different character to the…
This work presents an implementation of the resistive MHD equations for a generic algebraic Ohm's law which includes the effects of finite resistivity within full General Relativity. The implementation naturally accounts for magnetic-field-induced anisotropies and, by adopting a phenomenological current, is able to accurately describe electromagnetic fields in the star and in its magnetosphere. We illustrate the application of this approach in interesting systems with astrophysical implications; the aligned rotator solution and the collapse of a magnetized rotating neutron star to a black hole…
The mechanisms and pathways of magnetic energy conversion are an important subject for many laboratory, space and astrophysical systems. Here, we present a perspective on magnetic energy conversion in MHD through magnetic field curvature relaxation (CR) and perpendicular expansion (PE) due to magnetic pressure gradients, and quantify their relative importance in two representative cases, namely 3D magnetic reconnection and 3D kink-driven instability in an astrophysical jet. We find that the CR and PE processes have different temporal and spatial evolution in these systems. The relative importa…
The amplification of a magnetic field due to the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) is investigated by two-dimensional MHD simulations. Single-mode analysis is adopted to reveal definite relation between the nonlinear evolution of RMI and the field enhancement. It is found that an ambient magnetic field is stretched by fluid motions associated with the RMI, and the strength is amplified significantly by more than two orders of magnitude. The saturation level of the field is determined by a balance between the amplified magnetic pressure and the thermal pressure after shock passage. This effec…
Revisiting the Growth Rate of the Relativistic Tearing Instability: The Role of the Non-ideal MHD Structure
SIT Research Laboratories, Shibaura Institute of Technology（芝浦工业大学 SIT 研究实验室）；Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics (YITP), Kyoto University（京都大学汤川理论物理研究所（YITP））；Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（爱因斯坦研究所））
The results of MHD numerical simulations of the formation and development of magnetized jets are presented. Similarity criteria for comparisons of the results of laboratory laser experiments and numerical simulations of astrophysical jets are discussed. The results of laboratory simulations of jets generated in experiments at the Neodim laser installation are presented.
We studied roles of a turbulent resistivity in the core-collapse of a strongly magnetized massive star, carrying out 2D-resistive-MHD simulations. The three cases with different initial strengths of magnetic field and rotation are investigated; 1. strongly magnetized rotating core; 2.moderately magnetized rotating core; 3. very strongly magnetized non-rotating core. In each case, both an ideal-MHD model and resistive-MHD models are computed. As a result of computations, each model shows a matter eruption helped by a magnetic acceleration (and also by a centrifugal acceleration in the rotating …
The amplification of magnetic fields plays an important role in explaining numerous astrophysical phenomena associated with binary neutron-star mergers, such as mass ejection and the powering of short gamma-ray bursts. Magnetic fields in isolated neutron stars are often assumed to be confined to a small region near the stellar surface, while they are normally taken to fill the whole stars in the numerical modelling. By performing high-resolution, global, and high-order general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations we investigate the impact of a purely crustal magnetic field and contrast…
We derive analytically the vorticity generated downstream of a two-dimensional rippled hydromagnetic shock neglecting fluid viscosity and resistivity. The growth of the turbulent component of the downstream magnetic field is driven by the vortical eddies motion. We determine an analytic time-evolution of the magnetic field amplification at shocks, so far described only numerically, until saturation occurs due to seed-field reaction to field lines whirling. The explicit expression of the amplification growth rate and of the non-linear field back-reaction in terms of the parameters of shock and …
Magnetic fields are expected to play a key role in the dynamics and the ejection mechanisms that accompany the merger of two neutron stars. General relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations offer a unique opportunity to unravel the details of the ongoing physical processes. Nevertheless, current numerical studies are severely limited by the fact that any affordable resolution remains insufficient to fully capture the small-scale dynamo, initially triggered by the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and later sourced by several MHD processes involving differential rotation. Here, we alleviat…
We investigated electromagnetic precursor wave emission in relativistic shocks by using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. We found that the wave amplitude is significantly enhanced by a positive feedback process associated with ion-electron coupling through the wakefields for high magnetization. The wakefields collapse during the nonlinear process of the parametric decay instability in the near-upstream region, where nonthermal electrons and ions are generated. The intense coherent emission and the particle acceleration may opperate in high-energy astrophysical objects.
Certain classes of astrophysical objects, namely magnetars and central engines of supernovae and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), are characterized by extreme physical conditions not encountered elsewhere in the Universe. In particular, they possess magnetic fields that exceed the critical quantum field of 44 teragauss. Figuring out how these complex ultra-magnetized systems work requires understanding various plasma processes, both small-scale kinetic and large-scale magnetohydrodynamic (MHD). However, an ultra-strong magnetic field modifies the underlying physics to such an extent that many relevant…
The rate of magnetic field diffusion plays an essential role in several astrophysical plasma processes. It has been demonstrated that the omnipresent turbulence in astrophysical media induces fast magnetic reconnection, which consequently leads to large-scale magnetic flux diffusion at a rate independent of the plasma microphysics. This process is called ``reconnection diffusion'' (RD) and allows for the diffusion of fields which are dynamically important. The current theory describing RD is based on incompressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. In this work, we have tested quantitative…
We have investigated via two-dimensional relativistic MHD simulations the long-term evolution of turbulence created by a relativistic shock propagating through an inhomogeneous medium. In the postshock region, magnetic field is strongly amplified by turbulent motions triggered by preshock density inhomogeneities. Using a long-simulation box we have followed the magnetic-field amplification until it is fully developed and saturated. The turbulent velocity is sub-relativistic even for a strong shock. Magnetic-field amplification is controled by the turbulent motion and saturation occurs when the…
Although the Shakura-Sunyaev $α$ viscosity prescription has been highly successful in characterizing myriad astrophysical environments, it has proven to be partly inadequate in modelling turbulent stresses driven by the MRI. Hence, we adopt the approach employed by \citet{GIO03}, but in the context of Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), to study MRI turbulence. We utilize the exact evolution equations for the stresses, and the non-linear terms are closed through the invocation of dimensional analysis and physical considerations. We demonstrate that the inclusion of the Hall term leads to non-triv…
The magnetic Prandtl number Pr_M is the ratio of viscosity to resistivity. In astrophysical disks the diffusion of angular momentum (viscosity) and magnetic fields (resistivity) are controlled by turbulence. Phenomenological models of the evolution of large scale poloidal magnetic fields in disks suggest that the turbulent magnetic Prandtl number Pr_{M,T} controls the rate of escape of vertical field from the disk; for Pr_{M,T} leq R/H vertical field diffuses outward before it can be advected inward by accretion. Here we measure field diffusion and angular momentum transport due to MHD turbule…
We use particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to study the nonlinear evolution of ion velocity space instabilities in an idealized problem in which a background velocity shear continuously amplifies the magnetic field. We simulate the astrophysically relevant regime where the shear timescale is long compared to the ion cyclotron period, and the plasma beta is ~ 1-100. The background field amplification in our calculation is meant to mimic processes such as turbulent fluctuations or MHD-scale instabilities. The field amplification continuously drives a pressure anisotropy with the perpendicular pre…
As the fundamental physical process with many astrophysical implications, the diffusion of cosmic rays (CRs) is determined by their interaction with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. We consider the magnetic mirroring effect arising from MHD turbulence on the diffusion of CRs. Due to the intrinsic superdiffusion of turbulent magnetic fields, CRs with large pitch angles that undergo mirror reflection, i.e., bouncing CRs, are not trapped between magnetic mirrors, but move diffusively along the turbulent magnetic field, leading to a new type of parallel diffusion, i.e., mirror diffusion. This…
Turbulent dynamo field amplification has often been invoked to explain the strong field strengths in thin rims in supernova shocks ($\sim 100 \, μ$G) and in radio relics in galaxy clusters ($\sim μ$G). We present high resolution MHD simulations of the interaction between pre-shock turbulence, clumping and shocks, to quantify the conditions under which turbulent dynamo amplification can be significant. We demonstrate numerically converged field amplification which scales with Alfvén Mach number, $B/B_0 \propto {\mathcal M}_{\rm A}$, up to ${\mathcal M}_{\rm A} \sim 150$. This implies that the p…
We use particle-in-magnetohydrodynamics-cells to model particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification in a high Mach, parallel shock in three dimensions and compare the result to 2-D models. This allows us to determine whether 2-D simulations can be relied upon to yield accurate results in terms of particle acceleration, magnetic field amplification and the growth rate of instabilities. Our simulations show that the behaviour of the gas and the evolution of the instabilities are qualitatively similar for both the 2-D and 3-D models, with only minor quantitative differences that relate …
