Electron Acceleration Mechanism Research Articles

High temporal resolution observations of auroral electron density using superthermal electron enhancement of Langmuir waves

AbstractWe report high temporal resolution auroral electron precipitation observations using the Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar. The observations make use of the superthermal electron enhancement of Langmuir waves, which is shown to give accurate observations of the electron density during auroral ionization at a subsecond temporal resolution. This is important when matching to the time scales of auroral precipitation‐related phenomena, such as energy input into the atmosphere and magnetospheric electron acceleration mechanisms. We describe the measurement technique and show an example observation of auroral precipitation. The results show transients in electron density in the order of a few seconds, which are fully resolved by the plasma line measurements. An electron precipitation model is used to estimate precipitation energy and flux density. The energetic electron flux during the example event has variations even at short time scales. The results show that electron density profiles derived from plasma lines can be a powerful new observational capability.

Electron trapping and acceleration by kinetic Alfvén waves in solar flares

Context. Theoretical models and spacecraft observations of solar flares highlight the role of wave-particle interaction for non-local electron acceleration. In one scenario, the acceleration of a large electron population up to high energies is due to the transport of electromagnetic energy from the loop-top region down to the footpoints, which is then followed by the energy being released in dense plasma in the lower atmosphere.Aims. We consider one particular mechanism of non-linear electron acceleration by kinetic Alfven waves. Here, waves are generated by plasma flows in the energy release region near the loop top. We estimate the efficiency of this mechanism and the energies of accelerated electrons.Methods. We use analytical estimates and test-particle modelling to investigate the effects of electron trapping and acceleration by kinetic Alfven waves in the inhomogeneous plasma of the solar corona.Results. We demonstrate that, for realistic wave amplitudes, electrons can be accelerated up to 10−1000 keV during their propagation along magnetic field lines. Here the electric field that is parallel to the direction of the background magnetic field is about 10 to 103 times the amplitude of the Dreicer electric field. The acceleration mechanism strongly depends on electron scattering which is due to collisions that only take place near the loop footpoints.Conclusions. The non-linear wave-particle interaction can play an important role in the generation of relativistic electrons within flare loops. Electron trapping and coherent acceleration by kinetic Alfven waves represent the energy cascade from large-scale plasma flows that originate at the loop-top region down to the electron scale. The non-diffusive character of the non-linear electron acceleration may be responsible for the fast generation of high-energy particles.

Mount Aragats as a stable electron accelerator for atmospheric high-energy physics research

Observation of the numerous thunderstorm ground enhancements (TGEs), i.e., enhanced fluxes of electrons, gamma rays, and neutrons detected by particle detectors located on the Earth's surface and related to the strong thunderstorms above it, helped to establish a new scientific topic---high-energy physics in the atmosphere. Relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) are believed to be a central engine initiating high-energy processes in thunderstorm atmospheres. RREAs observed on Mount Aragats in Armenia during the strongest thunderstorms and simultaneous measurements of TGE electron and gamma-ray energy spectra proved that RREAs are a robust and realistic mechanism for electron acceleration. TGE research facilitates investigations of the long-standing lightning initiation problem. For the last 5 years we were experimenting with the ``beams'' of ``electron accelerators'' operating in the thunderclouds above the Aragats research station. Thunderstorms are very frequent above Aragats, peaking in May--June, and almost all of them are accompanied with enhanced particle fluxes. The station is located on a plateau at an altitude 3200 asl near a large lake. Numerous particle detectors and field meters are located in three experimental halls as well as outdoors; the facilities are operated all year round. All relevant information is being gathered, including data on particle fluxes, fields, lightning occurrences, and meteorological conditions. By the example of the huge thunderstorm that took place at Mount Aragats on August 28, 2015, we show that simultaneous detection of all the relevant data allowed us to reveal the temporal pattern of the storm development and to investigate the atmospheric discharges and particle fluxes.

A “slingshot” laser-driven acceleration mechanism of plasma electrons

We briefly report on the recently proposed Fiore et al. [1] and Fiore and De Nicola [2] electron acceleration mechanism named “slingshot effect”: under suitable conditions the impact of an ultra-short and ultra-intense laser pulse against the surface of a low-density plasma is expected to cause the expulsion of a bunch of superficial electrons with high energy in the direction opposite to that of the pulse propagation; this is due to the interplay of the huge ponderomotive force, huge longitudinal field arising from charge separation, and the finite size of the laser spot.

Drift mechanism of laser-induced electron acceleration in vacuum

Laser-induced electron acceleration in vacuum is possible due to the ejection of electrons from the beam as a consequence of the transverse drift orthogonal to the propagation direction. The transverse drift is derived from the general solution of the equations of motion of the electrons in the field of a plane electromagnetic wave with arbitrary polarization. It is shown that the energy gain is proportional to the square of the field strength additionally modulated by the function of the injection and ejection phases. In particular, for a linearly polarized beam this function is reduced to the squared difference between the cosines of these phases. The finite laser pulse duration restricts the range of the field strength suitable for direct electron acceleration in vacuum within certain limits. It is demonstrated that the high efficiency of energy transfer from the laser wave into the kinetic energy of the accelerated electrons demands phase matching between the electron quiver phase at the exit point and the phase of the energy transfer.

THE UNUSUAL RADIO AFTERGLOW OF THE ULTRA-LONG GAMMA-RAY BURST GRB 130925A

GRB 130925A is one of the recent additions to the growing family of ultra-long GRBs (T90$ \gtrsim 1000$ s). While the X-ray emission of ultra-long GRBs have been studied extensively in the past, no comprehensive radio dataset has been obtained so far. We report here the early discovery of an unusual radio afterglow associated with the ultra-long GRB 130925A. The radio emission peaks at low-frequencies ($\sim 7$ GHz) at early times, only $2.2$ days after the burst occurred. More notably, the radio spectrum at frequencies above $10$ GHz exhibits a rather steep cut-off, compared to other long GRB radio afterglows. This cut-off can be explained if the emitting electrons are either mono-energetic or originate from a rather steep, $dN/dE \propto E^{-4}$, power-law energy distribution. An alternative electron acceleration mechanism may be required to produce such an electron energy distribution. Furthermore, the radio spectrum exhibits a secondary underlying and slowly varying component. This may hint that the radio emission we observed is comprised of emission from both a reverse and a forward shock. We discuss our results in comparison with previous works that studied the unusual X-ray spectrum of this event and discuss the implications of our findings on progenitor scenarios.

Particle Acceleration and Plasma Heating in the Chromosphere

We propose a new mechanism of electron acceleration and plasma heating in the solar chromosphere, based on the magnetic Rayleigh–Taylor instability. The instability develops at the chromospheric footpoints of a flare loop and deforms the local magnetic field. As a result, the electric current in the loop varies, and a resulting inductive electric field appears. A pulse of the induced electric field, together with the pulse of the electric current, propagates along the loop with the Alfven velocity and begins to accelerate electrons up to an energy of about 1 MeV. Accelerated particles are thermalized in the dense layers of the chromosphere with the plasma density $n \approx10^{14}\,\mbox{--}\,10^{15}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}$ , heating them to a temperature of about several million degrees. Joule dissipation of the electric current pulse heats the chromosphere at heights that correspond to densities $n \le10^{11}\,\mbox{--}\,10^{13}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}$ . Observations with the New Solar Telescope at Big Bear Solar Observatory indicate that chromospheric footpoints of coronal loops might be heated to coronal temperatures and that hot plasma might be injected upwards, which brightens ultra-fine loops from the photosphere to the base of the corona. Thereby, recent observations of the Sun and the model we propose stimulate a deja vu – they are reminiscent of the concept of the chromospheric flare.

Simple scalings for various regimes of electron acceleration in surface plasma waves

Different electron acceleration regimes in the evanescent field of a surface plasma wave are studied by considering the interaction of a test electron with the high-frequency electromagnetic field of a surface wave. The non-relativistic and relativistic limits are investigated. Simple scalings are found demonstrating the possibility to achieve an efficient conversion of the surface wave field energy into electron kinetic energy. This mechanism of electron acceleration can provide a high-frequency pulsed source of relativistic electrons with a well defined energy. In the relativistic limit, the most energetic electrons are obtained in the so-called electromagnetic regime for surface waves. In this regime, the particles are accelerated to velocities larger than the wave phase velocity, mainly in the direction parallel to the plasma-vacuum interface.

Laser acceleration of electrons in two-dimensionally inhomogeneous plasma at the boundary of a metal foil

The electron acceleration mechanism associated with the generation of a plasma wave due to self-modulation instability of laser radiation in a subcritical plasma produced by a laser prepulse coming 10 ns before the arrival of the main intense femtosecond pulse is considered. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the interaction of laser radiation with two-dimensionally inhomogeneous subcritical plasma have shown that, for a sufficiently strong plasma inhomogeneity and a sharp front of the laser pulse, efficient plasma wave excitation, electron trapping, and generation of collimated electron beams with energies on the order of 0.2–0.5 MeV can occur. The simulation results agree with experiments on the generation of collimated beams of accelerated electrons from metal targets irradiated by intense femtosecond laser pulses.

Backward-propagating MeV electrons in ultra-intense laser interactions: Standing wave acceleration and coupling to the reflected laser pulse

Laser-accelerated electron beams have been created at a kHz repetition rate from the reflection of intense (∼1018 W/cm2), ∼40 fs laser pulses focused on a continuous water-jet in an experiment at the Air Force Research Laboratory. This paper investigates Particle-in-Cell simulations of the laser-target interaction to identify the physical mechanisms of electron acceleration in this experiment. We find that the standing-wave pattern created by the overlap of the incident and reflected laser is particularly important because this standing wave can “inject” electrons into the reflected laser pulse where the electrons are further accelerated. We identify two regimes of standing wave acceleration: a highly relativistic case (a0 ≥ 1), and a moderately relativistic case (a0 ∼ 0.5) which operates over a larger fraction of the laser period. In previous studies, other groups have investigated the highly relativistic case for its usefulness in launching electrons in the forward direction. We extend this by investigating electron acceleration in the specular (back reflection) direction and over a wide range of intensities (1017–1019 W cm−2).

Charged-particle acceleration through decreasing refractive index

We propose a mechanism for electron acceleration in which circularly polarized electromagnetic waves (CPEMW) propagate along a uniform magnetic field in a medium with a tapered refractive index. Results show that with a decreasing refractive index and a moderate CPEMW electric field, e.g., 1.20 × 108 V/m, the relativistic factor of an electron can go above 14 after it travels 10 cm in the direction of CPEMW propagation. Without tapering of the refractive index, the maximum value of the relativistic factor is less than 2.92 under the same wave and guiding magnetic field conditions. Similar acceleration efficiency is found for electrons with different initial velocities.

Particle acceleration at a reconnecting magnetic separator

While the exact acceleration mechanism of energetic particles during solar flares is (as yet) unknown, magnetic reconnection plays a key role both in the release of stored magnetic energy of the solar corona and the magnetic restructuring during a flare. Recent work has shown that special field lines, called separators, are common sites of reconnection in 3D numerical experiments. To date, 3D separator reconnection sites have received little attention as particle accelerators. We investigate the effectiveness of separator reconnection as a particle acceleration mechanism for electrons and protons. We study the particle acceleration using a relativistic guiding-centre particle code in a time-dependent kinematic model of magnetic reconnection at a separator. The effect upon particle behaviour of initial position, pitch angle and initial kinetic energy are examined in detail, both for specific (single) particle examples and for large distributions of initial conditions. The separator reconnection model contains several free parameters and we study the effect of changing these parameters upon particle acceleration, in particular in view of the final particle energy ranges which agree with observed energy spectra.

Effi cient Production of Fast Electron Via Surface Plasmon Resonance Induced by Intense Laser Light

High-energy electrons are generated when a high intensity(1019 W/m2), 30-femtosecond laser pulse irradiates a grating target at the resonant condition of surface plasmon excitation. The number of observed electrons for the grating target is 16 times higher than that for a plane foil target. A finite difference time domain simulation demonstrates a sharp dip of refl ectivity by surface plasmon excitation at this condition, and a particle-in-cell simulation well reproduces the trend of electron energy spectra measured in the experiment. The acceleration mechanism of the fast electrons can be explained by J × B acceleration, based on the agreement of the measured slope temperatures with those provided by numerical scaling laws.

Electron Acceleration in Supernovae and Millimeter Perspectives

Supernovae launch a strong shock wave by the interaction of the expanding ejecta and surrounding circumstellar matter (CSM). At the shock, electrons are accelerated to relativistic speed, creating observed synchrotron emissions in radio wavelengths. In this paper, I suggest that SNe (i.e., < 1 year since the explosion) provide a unique site to study the electron acceleration mechanism. I argue that the eciency of the acceleration at the young SN shock is much lower than conventionally assumed, and that the electrons emitting in the<em> cm</em> wavelengths are <em>not</em> fully in the Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA) regime. Thus radio emissions from young SNe record information on the yet-unresolved 'injection' mechanism. I also present perspectives of millimeter (<em>mm</em>) observations of SNe - this will provide opportunities to uniquely determine the shock physics and the acceleration efficiency, to test the non-linear DSA mechanism and provide a characteristic electron energy scale with which the DSA start dominating the electron acceleration.

NON-THERMAL ELECTRON ACCELERATION IN LOW MACH NUMBER COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS. II. FIREHOSE-MEDIATED FERMI ACCELERATION AND ITS DEPENDENCE ON PRE-SHOCK CONDITIONS

Electron acceleration to non-thermal energies is known to occur in low Mach number (M<5) shocks in galaxy clusters and solar flares, but the electron acceleration mechanism remains poorly understood. Using two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell (PIC) plasma simulations, we showed in Paper I that electrons are efficiently accelerated in low Mach number (M=3) quasi-perpendicular shocks via a Fermi-like process. The electrons bounce between the upstream region and the shock front, with each reflection at the shock resulting in energy gain via shock drift acceleration. The upstream scattering is provided by oblique magnetic waves, that are self-generated by the electrons escaping ahead of the shock. In the present work, we employ additional 2D PIC simulations to address the nature of the upstream oblique waves. We find that the waves are generated by the shock-reflected electrons via the firehose instability, which is driven by an anisotropy in the electron velocity distribution. We systematically explore how the efficiency of wave generation and of electron acceleration depend on the magnetic field obliquity, the flow magnetization (or equivalently, the plasma beta), and the upstream electron temperature. We find that the mechanism works for shocks with high plasma beta (>20) at nearly all magnetic field obliquities, and for electron temperatures in the range relevant for galaxy clusters. Our findings offer a natural solution to the conflict between the bright radio synchrotron emission observed from the outskirts of galaxy clusters and the low electron acceleration efficiency usually expected in low Mach number shocks.

The slingshot effect: A possible new laser-driven high energy acceleration mechanism for electrons

We show that under appropriate conditions the impact of a very short and intense laser pulse onto a plasma causes the expulsion of surface electrons with high energy in the direction opposite to the one of the propagations of the pulse. This is due to the combined effects of the ponderomotive force and the huge longitudinal field arising from charge separation (“slingshot effect”). The effect should also be present with other states of matter, provided the pulse is sufficiently intense to locally cause complete ionization. An experimental test seems to be feasible and, if confirmed, would provide a new extraction and acceleration mechanism for electrons, alternative to traditional radio-frequency-based or laser-wake-field ones.

Energetic electron bursts in the plasma sheet and their relation with BBFs

AbstractWe studied energetic electron bursts (EEBs) (40–250 keV) in the plasma sheet (PS) and their relation to bursty bulk flows (BBFs) using the data recorded by Cluster from 2001 to 2009. The EEBs in the PS can be classified into four types. Three types of EEBs are dispersionless, including EEBs accompanied with BBFs (V &gt; 250 km/s) but without dipolarization front (DF); EEBs accompanied with both dipolarization front (DF) and BBF; and EEBs accompanied with DF and fast flow with V &lt; 250 km/s. One type of EEB, i.e., EEBs not accompanied with BBFs and DFs, is dispersed. The energetic electrons (40–130 keV) can be easily transported earthward by BBFs due to the strong dawn‐dusk electric field embedded in BBFs. The DFs in BBFs can produce energetic electrons (40 to 250 keV). For the EEBs with DF and BBFs, the superposed epoch analyses show that the increase of energetic electron flux has two phases: gradual increase phase before DF and rapid increase phase concurrent with DF. In the PS around x = −18 RE, 60%–70% of EEBs are accompanied with BBFs, indicating that although hitherto there have been various acceleration mechanisms of energetic electrons, most of the energetic electrons in the PS are related with magnetic reconnection, and they are produced either directly by magnetic reconnection or indirectly by the DFs within BBFs. In the BBF's braking region of −12 RE &lt; x &lt; −10 RE, 20% of EEBs are accompanied with BBFs. The corresponding ratio between EEBs and BBFs shows a dawn‐dusk asymmetry.

NON-THERMAL ELECTRON ACCELERATION IN LOW MACH NUMBER COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS. I. PARTICLE ENERGY SPECTRA AND ACCELERATION MECHANISM

Electron acceleration to non-thermal energies in low Mach number (M<5) shocks is revealed by radio and X-ray observations of galaxy clusters and solar flares, but the electron acceleration mechanism remains poorly understood. Diffusive shock acceleration, also known as first-order Fermi acceleration, cannot be directly invoked to explain the acceleration of electrons. Rather, an additional mechanism is required to pre-accelerate the electrons from thermal to supra-thermal energies, so they can then participate in the Fermi process. In this work, we use two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell plasma simulations to study electron acceleration in low Mach number shocks. We focus on the particle energy spectra and the acceleration mechanism in a reference run with M=3 and a quasi-perpendicular pre-shock magnetic field. We find that about 15 percent of the electrons can be efficiently accelerated, forming a non-thermal power-law tail in the energy spectrum with a slope of p~2.4. Initially, thermal electrons are energized at the shock front via shock drift acceleration. The accelerated electrons are then reflected back upstream, where their interaction with the incoming flow generates magnetic waves. In turn, the waves scatter the electrons propagating upstream back toward the shock, for further energization via shock drift acceleration. In summary, the self-generated waves allow for repeated cycles of shock drift acceleration, similarly to a sustained Fermi-like process. This mechanism offers a natural solution to the conflict between the bright radio synchrotron emission observed from the outskirts of galaxy clusters and the low electron acceleration efficiency usually expected in low Mach number shocks.

Radiation belt electron acceleration induced by gyroresonant interaction with magnetosonic waves

Using Cluster 4 satellite data, we examine activities of fast magnetosonic (MS) waves in the outer radiation belt near the location L=4.2 on 28 May 2005. We adopt a Gaussian distribution to fit the observed power spectral density of MS waves and find the fitting wave strength to be 245 pT. We then calculate the bounce-averaged diffusion coefficients and show that these diffusion coefficients are pronounced within a region of pitch angles about 25°–70°. By solving a 2D Fokker-Planck diffusion equation, we simulate the dynamic evolution of the electron phase space density (PSD), and demonstrate that significant increases in electron PSDs at energies of MeVs occur mainly within the aforementioned pitch-angle range over a time scale of several hours. The current results suggest that the interaction between MS waves and electrons could be an important mechanism of electron acceleration in the radiation belt.

The mechanisms of electron heating and acceleration during magnetic reconnection

The heating of electrons in collisionless magnetic reconnection is explored in particle-in-cell simulations with non-zero guide fields so that electrons remain magnetized. In this regime, electric fields parallel to B accelerate particles directly, while those perpendicular to B do so through gradient-B and curvature drifts. The curvature drift drives parallel heating through Fermi reflection, while the gradient B drift changes the perpendicular energy through betatron acceleration. We present simulations in which we evaluate each of these mechanisms in space and time in order to quantify their role in electron heating. For a case with a small guide field (20% of the magnitude of the reconnecting component), the curvature drift is the dominant source of electron heating. However, for a larger guide field (equal to the magnitude of the reconnecting component) electron acceleration by the curvature drift is comparable to that of the parallel electric field. In both cases, the heating by the gradient B drift is negligible in magnitude. It produces net cooling because the conservation of the magnetic moment and the drop of B during reconnection produce a decrease in the perpendicular electron energy. Heating by the curvature drift dominates in the outflow exhausts where bent field lines expand to relax their tension and is therefore distributed over a large area. In contrast, the parallel electric field is localized near X-lines. This suggests that acceleration by parallel electric fields may play a smaller role in large systems where the X-line occupies a vanishing fraction of the system. The curvature drift and the parallel electric field dominate the dynamics and drive parallel heating. A consequence is that the electron energy spectrum becomes extremely anisotropic at late time, which has important implications for quantifying the limits of electron acceleration due to synchrotron emission. An upper limit on electron energy gain that is substantially higher than earlier estimates is obtained by balancing reconnection drive with radiative loss.