One-dimensional particle simulation of the filamentation instability: electrostatic field driven by the magnetic pressure gradient force

Abstract

Two counter-propagating cool and equally dense electron beams are modelled with particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The electron beam filamentation instability is examined in one spatial dimension, which is an approximation for a quasi-planar filament boundary. It is confirmed, that the force on the electrons imposed by the electrostatic field, which develops during the nonlinear stage of the instability, oscillates around a mean value that equals the magnetic pressure gradient force. The forces acting on the electrons due to the electrostatic and the magnetic field have a similar strength. The electrostatic field reduces the confining force close to the stable equilibrium of each filament and increases it farther away, limiting the peak density. The confining time-averaged total potential permits an overlap of current filaments with an opposite flow direction.

arXiv comment4 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Physics of Plasmas

References in corpus (6)

• Generation of Magnetic Fields in the Relativistic Shock of Gamma-Ray-Burst Sources
• Long-time evolution of magnetic fields in relativistic GRB shocks
• Development of a Turbulent Outflow During Electron-Positron Magnetic Reconnection
• The role of the Weibel instability at the reconnection jet front in relativistic pair plasma reconnection
• Physical problems (microphysics) in relativistic plasma flows
• Simulation study of the filamentation of counter-streaming beams of the electrons and positrons in plasmas

Cited by in corpus (7)

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• Nonrelativistic parallel shocks in unmagnetized and weakly magnetized plasmas
• The filamentation instability driven by warm electron beams: Statistics and electric field generation
• A Study of the Early-stage Evolution of Relativistic Electron-Ion Shock using 3D PIC Simulations
• Electric field generation by the electron beam filamentation instability: Filament size effects
• PIC simulation study of the interaction between a relativistically moving leptonic micro-cloud and ambient electrons