STREAMING INSTABILITIES IN THE RELATIVISTIC REGIME

摘要

Beam-plasma instabilities represent a key issue for the physics of relativistic collisionless shocks. They play a role in the very shock formation when triggered by the collision of two plasma shells. Once the shock is formed, Fermi accelerated particles at the shock front interact with the upstream medium. In this phase, the beam-plasma instabilities can amplify the upstream magnetic field and generate small scale turbulence. Both kind of effects are believed to play a major role in the generation of High Energy Cosmic Rays and Gamma Ray Bursts.