Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated just now
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence with a Strong Guide Field

  • Daniel Humphrey1
  • Stanislav Boldyrev1,2
  • Vadim Roytershteyn2,3
  1. 1University of Wisconsin at Madison
  2. 2Space Science Institute
  3. 3Los Alamos National Laboratory
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Magnetically dominated Alfvénic turbulence creates an effective environment for particle acceleration. However, when a strong mean field is present, traditional mechanisms like mirror and curvature acceleration become inefficient at explaining nonthermal particle energy distributions. Based on numerical and phenomenological study, we propose that in such turbulence, particles are accelerated in charge-starved current sheets, corresponding to current velocities approaching the speed of light. The distributions of the electric currents, plasma density, and fluctuations of electric charge, as well as the energy distributions of accelerated particles, approximately follow lognormal statistics. Nonthermal particle distributions thus arise from particle acceleration in these charge-starved current sheets rather than from conventional Fermi-type particle acceleration by turbulent eddies.

Related

  1. Guide field effects on particle acceleration in three-dimensional relativistic magnetic reconnection
    Despina Karavola, Lorenzo Sironi, Maria Petropoulou
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textHigh-energy astrophysicsPlasma physicsarXiv
  2. Particle Acceleration in Stratified 2D MRI Turbulence: From Reconnection to First- and Second-Order Fermi and Shear Acceleration
    Astor Sandoval, Mario Riquelme, Jorge Cuadra
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textHigh-energy astrophysicsPlasma physicsarXiv
  3. Particle Acceleration in Magnetized Shear-driven Turbulence
    Mingxuan Liu, Mateusz Ruszkowski, Ellen Zweibel +5
    The Astrophysical JournalPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textSolar & stellar physicsCrossref
  4. Longitudinal-field particle acceleration in channels generated by strong electromagnetic waves in pair plasma
    Kavin Tangtartharakul, Andrei M. Beloborodov, Carolina Herrera Hernandez +2
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textHigh-energy astrophysicsarXiv
  5. Equipartition between Alfvénic turbulence and energetic ions as the origin of the -5 common spectrum in the heliosphere
    Stanislav Boldyrev, Daniel Humphrey, Vadim Roytershteyn
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textGalaxiesSolar & stellar physicsarXiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{humphrey2026particle,
  title = {{Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence with a Strong Guide Field}},
  author = {Daniel Humphrey and Stanislav Boldyrev and Vadim Roytershteyn},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal Letters},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/aeb5ff},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeb5ff},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence with a Strong Guide Field
AU  - Daniel Humphrey
AU  - Stanislav Boldyrev
AU  - Vadim Roytershteyn
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/03
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal Letters
DO  - 10.3847/2041-8213/aeb5ff
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeb5ff
AB  - Magnetically dominated Alfvénic turbulence creates an effective environment for particle acceleration. However, when a strong mean field is present, traditional mechanisms like mirror and curvature acceleration become inefficient at explaining nonthermal particle energy distributions. Based on numerical and phenomenological study, we propose that in such turbulence, particles are accelerated in charge-starved current sheets, corresponding to current velocities approaching the speed of light. The distributions of the electric currents, plasma density, and fluctuations of electric charge, as well as the energy distributions of accelerated particles, approximately follow lognormal statistics. Nonthermal particle distributions thus arise from particle acceleration in these charge-starved current sheets rather than from conventional Fermi-type particle acceleration by turbulent eddies.
SN  - 2041-8213
SN  - 2041-8205
ER  -