Abstract
Ab initio simulations of the propagation in a plasma of a soon to be available relativistic electron–positron beam or fireball beam provide an effective mean for the study of microphysics relevant to astrophysical scenarios. We show that the current filamentation instability associated with some of these scenarios reaches saturation after only 10 cm of propagation in a typical laboratory plasma with a density ∼1017 cm−3. The different regimes of the instability, from the purely transverse to the mixed mode filamentation, can be accessed by varying the background plasma density. The instability generates large local plasma gradients, intense transverse magnetic fields, and enhanced emission of radiation. We suggest that these effects may be observed experimentally for the first time.
Highlights
Several astrophysical scenarios lead to extreme physical regimes, typically observed on Earth in the form of radiation and cosmic rays
In this Letter we focus on a scenario similar to that widely believed to be present in, and at the origin of gamma ray bursts (GRBs), by examining the collision of a relativistic e−e+ beam or neutral plasma mimicking a realistic plasma shell, with a static plasma consisting of e− and p+
The interaction leads to current filamentation instability (CFI), or Weibel instability [8, 9], which generates very large magnetic fields as the beam plasma interaction evolves
Summary
Several astrophysical scenarios lead to extreme physical regimes, typically observed on Earth in the form of radiation and cosmic rays. We show that the current filamentation instability associated with some of these scenarios reaches saturation after only 10 cm of propagation in a typical laboratory plasma with a density ∼ 1017 cm−3.
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