29 September 2026 to 7 October 2026
Slovanka
Europe/Prague timezone

Transition from Proton Cyclotron to Weibel Instabilities in Perpendicular Non-relativistic Shocks

30 Sept 2026, 13:15
1h
Slov - "Sál V. Dvořáka: hlavní sál" - A/1.NP/10 (Slovanka)

Slov - "Sál V. Dvořáka: hlavní sál" - A/1.NP/10

Slovanka

FZU - Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences Na Slovance 1999/2, 182 00 Praha 8 Czech Republic
80
Preliminary discussion topic Presentations & discussions

Speaker

Valentine Devos (Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics)

Description

Using 2D3V fully kinetic PIC simulations, we investigate how the dominant ion-scale instability regime evolves with Alfvénic Mach number ($M_A = 8.6-23$). At low $M_A$ ($\lesssim10$), the proton cyclotron instability (PCI), driven by ion temperature anisotropy, dominates and is accompanied by whistler-mode waves excited by electron temperature anisotropy in the shock ramp. At high $M_A$ ($\gtrsim20$), the Weibel filamentation instability, sustained by counterstreaming reflected ion beams, becomes decisively dominant. The transition occurs between $M_A = 8.6$ and $15$; the Weibel growth number and the transverse magnetic field amplification both rise, while whistler power drops, revealing a shift from wave-dominated to filamentation-dominated shock dissipation.

Author

Valentine Devos (Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics)

Co-author

Artem Bohdan (Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics)

Presentation materials

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