Abstract
Understanding the conditions conducive to particle acceleration at collisionless, nonrelativistic shocks is important for the origin of cosmic rays. We use hybrid (kinetic ions-fluid electrons) kinetic simulations to investigate particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification at nonrelativistic, weakly magnetized, quasiperpendicular shocks. So far, no self-consistent kinetic simulation has reported nonthermal tails at quasiperpendicular shocks. Unlike 2D simulations, 3D runs show that protons develop a nonthermal tail spontaneously (i.e., from the thermal bath and without preexisting magnetic turbulence). They are rapidly accelerated via shock drift acceleration up to a maximum energy determined by their escape upstream. We discuss the implications of our results for the phenomenology of heliospheric shocks, supernova remnants, and radio supernovae.
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