Relativistic particle acceleration in a folded current sheet

被引:50
作者
Zenitani, S [1 ]
Hoshino, M [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Tokyo, Dept Earth & Planetary Sci, Bunkyo Ku, Tokyo 1130033, Japan
关键词
acceleration of particles; instabilities; magnetic fields; plasmas; pulsars : individual (Crab Pulsar); relativity;
D O I
10.1086/427873
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
Two-dimensional particle simulations of a relativistic Harris current sheet of pair (e(+/-)) plasmas have demon strated that the system is unstable to the relativistic drift kink instability and that a new kind of acceleration process takes place in the deformed current sheet. This process contributes to the generation of nonthermal particles and contributes to the fast magnetic dissipation in the current sheet structure. The acceleration mechanism and a brief comparison with relativistic magnetic reconnection are presented.
引用
收藏
页码:L111 / L114
页数:4
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