Trapping of high-energy electrons into regime of surfatron acceleration by electromagnetic waves in space plasma

Abstract

The phenomenon of trapping of weakly relativistic charged particles (with kinetic energies on the order of mc ²) into a regime of surfatron acceleration by an electromagnetic wave that propagates in plasma across a weak external magnetic field has been studied using nonlinear numerical calculations based on a solution of the relativistic equations of motion. Analysis showed that, for the wave amplitude above a certain threshold value and the initial wave phase outside the interval favorable for the surfing regime, the trajectory of a charged particle initially corresponds to its cyclotron rotation in the external magnetic field. For the initial particle energies studied, the period of this rotation is relatively short. After a certain number (from several dozen to several thousand and above) of periods of rotation, the wave phase takes a value that is favorable for trapping of the charged particle on its trajectory by the electromagnetic wave, provided the Cherenkov resonance conditions are satisfied. As a result, the wave traps the charged particle and imparts it an ultrarelativistic acceleration. In momentum space, the region of trapping into the regime of surfing on an electromagnetic wave turns out to be rather large.