Collisionless Tearing Instability in Relativistic Nonthermal Pair Plasma and Its Application to MHD Turbulence
Collisionless tearing instability with a power-law distribution function in a relativistic pair plasma with a guide field is studied. When the current sheet is supported by plasma pressure, the tearing mode is suppressed as the particle spectrum hardens. In the force-free limit, the instability grow...
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| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9d3a |
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| author | Ivan Demidov Yuri Lyubarsky |
| author_facet | Ivan Demidov Yuri Lyubarsky |
| author_sort | Ivan Demidov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Collisionless tearing instability with a power-law distribution function in a relativistic pair plasma with a guide field is studied. When the current sheet is supported by plasma pressure, the tearing mode is suppressed as the particle spectrum hardens. In the force-free limit, the instability growth rate becomes independent of the particle spectrum. We apply these results to relativistic MHD turbulence, where magnetic energy greatly exceeds plasma rest energy, and derive an expression for the transverse size of turbulent eddies unstable to tearing mode. We also establish the critical plasma magnetization parameter above which charge starvation prevents the tearing instability. These results might be useful for developing more accurate models of particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical sources. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f431756e46974384a2f772b5c87fe59b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-f431756e46974384a2f772b5c87fe59b2025-01-21T06:52:41ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01979210410.3847/1538-4357/ad9d3aCollisionless Tearing Instability in Relativistic Nonthermal Pair Plasma and Its Application to MHD TurbulenceIvan Demidov0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9217-6964Yuri Lyubarsky1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2316-8899Physics Department, Ben-Gurion University , PO Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, IsraelPhysics Department, Ben-Gurion University , PO Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, IsraelCollisionless tearing instability with a power-law distribution function in a relativistic pair plasma with a guide field is studied. When the current sheet is supported by plasma pressure, the tearing mode is suppressed as the particle spectrum hardens. In the force-free limit, the instability growth rate becomes independent of the particle spectrum. We apply these results to relativistic MHD turbulence, where magnetic energy greatly exceeds plasma rest energy, and derive an expression for the transverse size of turbulent eddies unstable to tearing mode. We also establish the critical plasma magnetization parameter above which charge starvation prevents the tearing instability. These results might be useful for developing more accurate models of particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical sources.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9d3aPlasma astrophysicsMagnetohydrodynamicsHigh energy astrophysics |
| spellingShingle | Ivan Demidov Yuri Lyubarsky Collisionless Tearing Instability in Relativistic Nonthermal Pair Plasma and Its Application to MHD Turbulence The Astrophysical Journal Plasma astrophysics Magnetohydrodynamics High energy astrophysics |
| title | Collisionless Tearing Instability in Relativistic Nonthermal Pair Plasma and Its Application to MHD Turbulence |
| title_full | Collisionless Tearing Instability in Relativistic Nonthermal Pair Plasma and Its Application to MHD Turbulence |
| title_fullStr | Collisionless Tearing Instability in Relativistic Nonthermal Pair Plasma and Its Application to MHD Turbulence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Collisionless Tearing Instability in Relativistic Nonthermal Pair Plasma and Its Application to MHD Turbulence |
| title_short | Collisionless Tearing Instability in Relativistic Nonthermal Pair Plasma and Its Application to MHD Turbulence |
| title_sort | collisionless tearing instability in relativistic nonthermal pair plasma and its application to mhd turbulence |
| topic | Plasma astrophysics Magnetohydrodynamics High energy astrophysics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9d3a |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ivandemidov collisionlesstearinginstabilityinrelativisticnonthermalpairplasmaanditsapplicationtomhdturbulence AT yurilyubarsky collisionlesstearinginstabilityinrelativisticnonthermalpairplasmaanditsapplicationtomhdturbulence |