A Field-Particle Correlation Analysis of a Perpendicular Magnetized Collisionless Shock

TL;DR

This paper applies the field-particle correlation technique to a Vlasov-Maxwell simulation of a perpendicular collisionless shock, revealing detailed energy transfer mechanisms between fields and particles in phase space.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of the field-particle correlation method to a high-fidelity Vlasov simulation, elucidating particle energization processes in collisionless shocks.

Findings

Identified velocity-space signatures of shock-drift acceleration and electron heating.

Constructed a simplified model reproducing observed energization signatures.

Provided predictions for applying the technique to spacecraft data.

Abstract

Using the field-particle correlation technique, we examine the particle energization in a 1D-2V continuum Vlasov--Maxwell simulation of a perpendicular magnetized collisionless shock. The combination of the field-particle correlation technique with the high fidelity representation of the particle distribution function provided by a direct discretization of the Vlasov equation allows us to ascertain the details of the exchange of energy between the electromagnetic fields and the particles in phase space. We identify the velocity-space signatures of shock-drift acceleration of the ions and adiabatic heating of the electrons due to the perpendicular collisionless shock by constructing a simplified model with the minimum ingredients necessary to produce the observed energization signatures in the self-consistent Vlasov-Maxwell simulation. We are thus able to completely characterize the energy transfer in the perpendicular collisionless shock considered here and provide predictions for the application of the field-particle correlation technique to spacecraft measurements of collisionless shocks.