17,720 research outputs found
Ising Field Theory on a Pseudosphere
We show how the symmetries of the Ising field theory on a pseudosphere can be
exploited to derive the form factors of the spin fields as well as the
non-linear differential equations satisfied by the corresponding two-point
correlation functions. The latter are studied in detail and, in particular, we
present a solution to the so-called connection problem relating two of the
singular points of the associated Painleve VI equation. A brief discussion of
the thermodynamic properties is also presented.Comment: 39 pages, 6 eps figures, uses harvma
The ion motion in self-modulated plasma wakefield accelerators
The effects of plasma ion motion in self-modulated plasma based accelerators
is examined. An analytical model describing ion motion in the narrow beam limit
is developed, and confirmed through multi-dimensional particle-in-cell
simulations. It is shown that the ion motion can lead to the early saturation
of the self-modulation instability, and to the suppression of the accelerating
gradients. This can reduce the total energy that can be transformed into
kinetic energy of accelerated particles. For the parameters of future
proton-driven plasma accelerator experiments, the ion dynamics can have a
strong impact. Possible methods to mitigate the effects of the ion motion in
future experiments are demonstrated.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Spatial-temporal evolution of the current filamentation instability
The spatial-temporal evolution of the purely transverse current filamentation
instability is analyzed by deriving a single partial differential equation for
the instability and obtaining the analytical solutions for the spatially and
temporally growing current filament mode. When the beam front always encounters
fresh plasma, our analysis shows that the instability grows spatially from the
beam front to the back up to a certain critical beam length; then the
instability acquires a purely temporal growth. This critical beam length
increases linearly with time and in the non-relativistic regime it is
proportional to the beam velocity. In the relativistic regime the critical
length is inversely proportional to the cube of the beam Lorentz factor
. Thus, in the ultra-relativistic regime the instability
immediately acquires a purely temporal growth all over the beam. The analytical
results are in good agreement with multidimensional particle-in-cell
simulations performed with OSIRIS. Relevance of current study to recent and
future experiments on fireball beams is also addressed
Ion dynamics and acceleration in relativistic shocks
Ab-initio numerical study of collisionless shocks in electron-ion
unmagnetized plasmas is performed with fully relativistic particle in cell
simulations. The main properties of the shock are shown, focusing on the
implications for particle acceleration. Results from previous works with a
distinct numerical framework are recovered, including the shock structure and
the overall acceleration features. Particle tracking is then used to analyze in
detail the particle dynamics and the acceleration process. We observe an energy
growth in time that can be reproduced by a Fermi-like mechanism with a reduced
number of scatterings, in which the time between collisions increases as the
particle gains energy, and the average acceleration efficiency is not ideal.
The in depth analysis of the underlying physics is relevant to understand the
generation of high energy cosmic rays, the impact on the astrophysical shock
dynamics, and the consequent emission of radiation.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Ion motion in the wake driven by long particle bunches in plasmas
We explore the role of the background plasma ion motion in self-modulated
plasma wakefield accelerators. We employ J. Dawson's plasma sheet model to
derive expressions for the transverse plasma electric field and ponderomotive
force in the narrow bunch limit. We use these results to determine the on-set
of the ion dynamics, and demonstrate that the ion motion could occur in
self-modulated plasma wakefield accelerators. Simulations show the motion of
the plasma ions can lead to the early suppression of the self-modulation
instability and of the accelerating fields. The background plasma ion motion
can nevertheless be fully mitigated by using plasmas with heavier plasmas.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figure
A global simulation for laser driven MeV electrons in -diameter fast ignition targets
The results from 2.5-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations for the
interaction of a picosecond-long ignition laser pulse with a plasma pellet of
50- diameter and 40 critical density are presented. The high density
pellet is surrounded by an underdense corona and is isolated by a vacuum region
from the simulation box boundary. The laser pulse is shown to filament and
create density channels on the laser-plasma interface. The density channels
increase the laser absorption efficiency and help generate an energetic
electron distribution with a large angular spread. The combined distribution of
the forward-going energetic electrons and the induced return electrons is
marginally unstable to the current filament instability. The ions play an
important role in neutralizing the space charges induced by the the temperature
disparity between different electron groups. No global coalescing of the
current filaments resulted from the instability is observed, consistent with
the observed large angular spread of the energetic electrons.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Physics of Plasmas (May 2006
Magnetically assisted self-injection and radiation generation for plasma based acceleration
It is shown through analytical modeling and numerical simulations that
external magnetic fields can relax the self-trapping thresholds in plasma based
accelerators. In addition, the transverse location where self-trapping occurs
can be selected by adequate choice of the spatial profile of the external
magnetic field. We also find that magnetic-field assisted self-injection can
lead to the emission of betatron radiation at well defined frequencies. This
controlled injection technique could be explored using state-of-the-art
magnetic fields in current/next generation plasma/laser wakefield accelerator
experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Plasma Physics and
Controlled Fusio
Long-time evolution of magnetic fields in relativistic GRB shocks
We investigate the long-time evolution of magnetic fields generated by the
two-stream instability at ultra- and sub-relativistic astrophysical
collisionless shocks. Based on 3D PIC simulation results, we introduce a 2D toy
model of interacting current filaments. Within the framework of this model, we
demonstrate that the field correlation scale in the region far downstream the
shock grows nearly as the light crossing time, lambda(t) ~ ct, thus making the
diffusive field dissipation inefficient. The obtained theoretical scaling is
tested using numerical PIC simulations. This result extends our understanding
of the structure of collisionless shocks in gamma-ray bursts and other
astrophysical objects.Comment: 5 pages. 2 figures. Submitted to ApJ
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