Abstract We describe a well-tested Monte Carlo simulation which combines a determination of parallel shock structure with first-order Fermi particle acceleration. By not calculating ion scattering self-consistently, we are able to run the simulation long enough to model particle acceleration to energies seen in diffuse ions observed at Earth's bow shock. The simulation includes the nonlinear backreaction of accelerated ions on the unshocked plasma, thermal particle injection, and particle escape from a finite shock. Comparisons between the simulation and bow shock observations allow constraints to be placed on model assumptions such as the momentum dependence of the scattering mean free path, effects of shock smoothing, thresholds for thermal ion injection, how the unshocked plasma temperature effects the He2+/H+ acceleration efficiency, and the importance of pitch-angle scattering.


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    Title :

    Modeling Fermi acceleration at parallel shocks with Monte Carlo techniques


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Advances in Space Research ; 11 , 9 ; 265-274


    Publication date :

    1991-01-01


    Size :

    10 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English