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Detrapping Mechanism of Ultrarelativistic Electrons from an Oblique Shock Wave

Kenta SHIKII and Mieko TOIDA

Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan

(Received 7 December 2009 / Accepted 8 March 2010 / Published 10 December 2010)

Abstract

Multi-dimensional effects on electron motion in a magnetosonic shock wave propagating obliquely to an external magnetic field are studied by means of a two-dimensional (two space coordinates and three velocities), relativistic, electromagnetic particle code. The simulations demonstrate that after trapping and energization in the main pulse of the shock wave, some electrons are detrapped from it while maintaining their ultrarelativistic energies. The detrapping is caused by magnetic fluctuations propagating along the wave front. Furthermore, some of the detrapped electrons are found to be accelerated by the shock wave to much higher energies because they can enter and exit the shock wave several times as a result of their gyromotions.

Copyright (c) 2010 The Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research

Keywords

particle acceleration, collisionless shock, whistler wave, particle simulation

DOI: 10.1585/pfr.5.S2064

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This paper may be cited as follows:

Kenta SHIKII and Mieko TOIDA, Plasma Fusion Res. 5, S2064 (2010).