Magnitude of Short-Wavelength Electric Field Fluctuations in Simulations of Collisionless Plasma Shocks
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866909806358429696 |
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| author | Roytershteyn, Vadim Wilson III, Lynn B. Chen, Li-Jen Gedalin, Michael Pogorelov, Nikolai |
| author_facet | Roytershteyn, Vadim Wilson III, Lynn B. Chen, Li-Jen Gedalin, Michael Pogorelov, Nikolai |
| contents | Large-amplitude electrostatic fluctuations are routinely observed by spacecraft upon traversal of collisionless shocks in the heliosphere. Kinetic simulations of shocks have struggled to reproduce the amplitude of such fluctuations, complicating efforts to understand their influence on energy dissipation and shock structure. In this paper, 1D particle-in-cell simulations with realistic proton-to-electron mass ratio are used to show that in cases with upstream electron temperature $T_e$ exceeding the ion temperature $T_i$, the magnitude of the fluctuations increases with the electron plasma-to-cyclotron frequency ratio $ω_{pe}/Ω_{ce}$, reaching realistic values at $ω_{pe}/Ω_{ce} \gtrsim 30$. The large-amplitude fluctuations in the simulations are shown to be associated with electrostatic solitary structures, such as ion phase-space holes. In the cases where upstream temperature ratio is reversed, the magnitude of the fluctuations remains small. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_11286 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Magnitude of Short-Wavelength Electric Field Fluctuations in Simulations of Collisionless Plasma Shocks Roytershteyn, Vadim Wilson III, Lynn B. Chen, Li-Jen Gedalin, Michael Pogorelov, Nikolai Space Physics Plasma Physics Large-amplitude electrostatic fluctuations are routinely observed by spacecraft upon traversal of collisionless shocks in the heliosphere. Kinetic simulations of shocks have struggled to reproduce the amplitude of such fluctuations, complicating efforts to understand their influence on energy dissipation and shock structure. In this paper, 1D particle-in-cell simulations with realistic proton-to-electron mass ratio are used to show that in cases with upstream electron temperature $T_e$ exceeding the ion temperature $T_i$, the magnitude of the fluctuations increases with the electron plasma-to-cyclotron frequency ratio $ω_{pe}/Ω_{ce}$, reaching realistic values at $ω_{pe}/Ω_{ce} \gtrsim 30$. The large-amplitude fluctuations in the simulations are shown to be associated with electrostatic solitary structures, such as ion phase-space holes. In the cases where upstream temperature ratio is reversed, the magnitude of the fluctuations remains small. |
| title | Magnitude of Short-Wavelength Electric Field Fluctuations in Simulations of Collisionless Plasma Shocks |
| topic | Space Physics Plasma Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.11286 |