PIC simulations of nonrelativistic high-Mach-number oblique shocks propagating in a turbulent medium
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866914586954825728 |
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| author | Fulat, Karol Moore, Eloise Alawashra, Mahmoud Tsirou, Michelle Bohdan, Artem Amano, Takanobu Pohl, Martin |
| author_facet | Fulat, Karol Moore, Eloise Alawashra, Mahmoud Tsirou, Michelle Bohdan, Artem Amano, Takanobu Pohl, Martin |
| contents | Collisionless shocks are common in astrophysical systems and stand as sites of particle acceleration. While particles at perpendicular shocks may not return to the upstream region, at oblique shocks a fraction of energetic electrons manage to escape the shock and travel upstream. An extended region known as the electron foreshock is formed, where these reflected particles drive various instabilities that may promote electron acceleration. Here we present the first 2D3V particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of electron-ion non-relativistic oblique shocks that explore the interaction of the foreshock with pre-existing compressive turbulence with relative amplitude of 15% based on interstellar medium estimates. We find that pre-existing turbulence influences the emergence and behavior of the whistler-wave instability, as it enhances the amplitudes of the magnetic-field fluctuations and leads to larger nonlinear structures. This impacts the dynamics of the reflected electrons, resulting in a shorter and hotter electron foreshock. At the end of our simulations, with pre-existing upstream turbulence we observe non-thermal electrons that are more numerous, reach higher energies, and carry a larger portion of the total energy. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_21986 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | PIC simulations of nonrelativistic high-Mach-number oblique shocks propagating in a turbulent medium Fulat, Karol Moore, Eloise Alawashra, Mahmoud Tsirou, Michelle Bohdan, Artem Amano, Takanobu Pohl, Martin Plasma Physics High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Space Physics Collisionless shocks are common in astrophysical systems and stand as sites of particle acceleration. While particles at perpendicular shocks may not return to the upstream region, at oblique shocks a fraction of energetic electrons manage to escape the shock and travel upstream. An extended region known as the electron foreshock is formed, where these reflected particles drive various instabilities that may promote electron acceleration. Here we present the first 2D3V particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of electron-ion non-relativistic oblique shocks that explore the interaction of the foreshock with pre-existing compressive turbulence with relative amplitude of 15% based on interstellar medium estimates. We find that pre-existing turbulence influences the emergence and behavior of the whistler-wave instability, as it enhances the amplitudes of the magnetic-field fluctuations and leads to larger nonlinear structures. This impacts the dynamics of the reflected electrons, resulting in a shorter and hotter electron foreshock. At the end of our simulations, with pre-existing upstream turbulence we observe non-thermal electrons that are more numerous, reach higher energies, and carry a larger portion of the total energy. |
| title | PIC simulations of nonrelativistic high-Mach-number oblique shocks propagating in a turbulent medium |
| topic | Plasma Physics High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Space Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.21986 |