HR: 08:00h
AN: SM51D-01 INVITED    [Abstracts]
TI: Particle Acceleration in relativistic plasmas
AU: * Lapenta, G
EM: giovanni.lapenta@wis.kuleuven.be
AF: LANL, MS: K717, Los Alamos, 87545, United States
AU: * Lapenta, G
EM: giovanni.lapenta@wis.kuleuven.be
AF: KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B, Heverlee, 3001, Belgium
AB: We review our recent results on particle acceleration in shocks [1], in reconnection [2] and via wave-particle interactions in microinstabilites [3]. After reviewing the fundamental issues in particle acceleration in the three classes of problems mentioned above, we focus specifically on the interactions of waves and particles during the evolution of plasma microinstabilites. We consider a new mechanism responsible for exceedingly strong acceleration events in relativistic plasmas. We conduct simulations of streaming plasmas (generated for example in astrophysical processes such as jets or in shocks) and consider the evolution of instabilities, comparing the classical and the relativistic evolution. The cause of the new processes is discussed in ration with the properties of the Minkowski space-time itself [3]. [1] G. Lapenta, J. King, JGR, to appear. [2] W. Wan, G. Lapenta, GRL, submitted [3] G. Lapenta et al, ApJ, to appear.
DE: 7807 Charged particle motion and acceleration
DE: 7815 Electrostatic structures
DE: 7829 Kinetic waves and instabilities
DE: 7845 Particle acceleration
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting