SMuK 2021 – scientific programme

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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 5: Poster I

P 5.30: Poster

Tuesday, August 31, 2021, 14:00–16:00, P

PIC-Simulations of Perpendicular Collisionless Shocks in Multiple-Ion GRB Plasmas — •Jonas Graw, Martin Weidl, and Frank Jenko — Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics

Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are electrically charged particles, which move throughout the universe with energies greater than about 1 EeV. Understanding where and how these particles are created, i.e., unravelling the nature of cosmic accelerators, is one of the biggest challenges in present-day astrophysics. One likely source of UHECRs are gamma-ray burst (GRBs). The latter eject gas parallel to the axis of rotation with high velocities. Shocks are formed in these jets, in which particles are believed to be accelerated to extremely high velocities. Due to such high energies, protons and neutrons fuse to alpha particles. In our research, we simulate an astrophysical plasma consisting of multiple ion species in a mildly relativistic shock. Presently, we examine both real and phase space and we explore how the highest energetic particles behave in such a plasma. We analyze different modes that both come from analytical considerations and simulations. Particularly interesting are the modes that do not exist in an electron-proton plasma. The acceleration of UHECRs is thereby strongly connected to particle-wave interactions inside the plasma. In our analysis, we deepen the understanding of the nature of possible acceleration mechanisms.