Nonlinear evolution of Buneman instability and its implication for electron acceleration in high Mach number collisionless perpendicular shocks

Nonlinear evolution of the Buneman instability and its application to electron acceleration in collisionless shocks are discussed. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that the saturation level of the instability is reduced from one-dimensional simulation results. It is demonstrated that the reduced saturation level is due to the resonant wave-particle interactions with large amplitude obliquely propagating waves. A new estimate for the saturation level is given by considering the interactions with oblique modes. The effects of the large amplitude oblique modes on electron shock surfing acceleration that is mainly controlled by the Buneman instability are also investigated. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the shock transition region are performed by adopting a local model with the periodic boundary condition. The results indicate that the presence of oblique modes introduces a stochastic behavior to the trajectories of energetic electrons. The maximum energy is limited by the finite lifetime of the instability in the present periodic model. However, this will not be the case in the realistic shock transition region. The application to realistic shocks with Mach numbers typical of supernova remnants is also discussed. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3240336]