Structure of Relativistic Magnetosonic Shocks in Electron-Positron Plasmas

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The one-dimensional structure of high-Mach-number, transverse magnetosonic, relativistic shocks is studied computationally by kinetic, particle-in-cell methods. For amplitudes of astrophysical interest, shocks are mediated by magnetic reflection of the incoming plasma stream. The resulting coherent Larmor loops at the shock front are unstable, and rapidly thermalize downstream to form a relativistic, quasi-Maxwellian plasma in the momenta normal to the background magnetic field.