Asymmetric ion acceleration in laser-produced magnetized collisionless shocks

Zhang Tianyi; Guo Ao; Tang Huibo; Hu Guangyue; Huang Kai; Shao Shuoting; Yang Shunyi; Xie Jiayin; Peng Gaoyuan; E Peng; Lu Quanming

doi:10.1063/5.0284676

Volume 11 Issue 2

Mar. 2026

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Zhang Tianyi, Guo Ao, Tang Huibo, Hu Guangyue, Huang Kai, Shao Shuoting, Yang Shunyi, Xie Jiayin, Peng Gaoyuan, E Peng, Lu Quanming. Asymmetric ion acceleration in laser-produced magnetized collisionless shocks[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(2): 027402. doi: 10.1063/5.0284676

Citation:

Zhang Tianyi, Guo Ao, Tang Huibo, Hu Guangyue, Huang Kai, Shao Shuoting, Yang Shunyi, Xie Jiayin, Peng Gaoyuan, E Peng, Lu Quanming. Asymmetric ion acceleration in laser-produced magnetized collisionless shocks[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(2): 027402. doi: 10.1063/5.0284676

Citation:

Zhang Tianyi, Guo Ao, Tang Huibo, Hu Guangyue, Huang Kai, Shao Shuoting, Yang Shunyi, Xie Jiayin, Peng Gaoyuan, E Peng, Lu Quanming. Asymmetric ion acceleration in laser-produced magnetized collisionless shocks[J]. Matter and Radiation at Extremes, 2026, 11(2): 027402. doi: 10.1063/5.0284676

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Asymmetric ion acceleration in laser-produced magnetized collisionless shocks

doi: 10.1063/5.0284676

1.
School of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
2.
CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
3.
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

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Corresponding author: a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: tanghb@hit.edu.cn and gyhu@ustc.edu.cn
Received Date: 2025-06-09
Accepted Date: 2025-12-04

Available Online: 2026-05-11

Publish Date: 2026-03-01

Abstract

Abstract

Quasi-hemispherical magnetized collisionless shocks have been generated at the SG-II laser facility through the interaction between a laser-produced supersonic plasma flow and a magnetized ambient plasma, exhibiting an angular asymmetric shock profile accompanied by asymmetric ion acceleration. We have conducted test particle simulations using the electromagnetic fields derived from 2D MHD simulations to investigate the asymmetry of ion acceleration. The simulations reproduce the angular asymmetry of the shock and the ion acceleration observed in experiments. The results indicate that shock drift acceleration is the primary mechanism for ion energization in the present quasi-perpendicular magnetized shock. The asymmetric shock structure caused by nonuniform ambient plasma forms an asymmetric accelerated electric field, ultimately leading to angular asymmetric ion acceleration, which is consistent with space observations and our experimental results. Our study provides a plausible explanation for the discrepancies reported in previous ion acceleration experiments, and could contribute to understanding of the collisionless shock acceleration.

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.
Conflict of Interest
Tianyi Zhang: Data curation (equal); Methodology (equal); Writing – original draft (equal). Ao Guo: Data curation (equal); Methodology (equal). Huibo Tang: Funding acquisition (equal); Methodology (equal); Writing – review & editing (equal). Guangyue Hu: Funding acquisition (equal); Methodology (equal); Writing – review & editing (equal). Kai Huang: Software (equal). Shuoting Shao: Data curation (equal). Shunyi Yang: Methodology (equal); Software (equal). Jiayin Xie: Visualization (equal). Gaoyuan Peng: Visualization (equal). Peng E: Funding acquisition (equal); Supervision (equal). Quanming Lu: Funding acquisition (equal); Investigation (equal); Supervision (equal).
Author Contributions
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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References(50)

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