Dissipation and particle acceleration at intermittent structures with velocity and magnetic shear: interaction of Kelvin–Helmholtz and drift–kink instabilities

Journal article

We present two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of a magnetised, collisionless, relativistic pair plasma subjected to combined velocity and magnetic field shear, a scenario typical at intermittent structures in plasma turbulence. We create conditions where only the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) and drift–kink instability (DKI) can develop, while tearing modes are forbidden. The interaction of DKI and KHI generates qualitatively new structures, marked by a thickened shear layer with very weak electromagnetic field, modulated by KH vortices. Over a range of moderately strong velocity shears explored, the interaction of DKI and KHI results in a significant enhancement of dissipation over cases with only velocity shear or only magnetic shear. Moreover, we observe a new and efficient way of particle acceleration where particles are stochastically accelerated by the motional electric field exterior to the shear layer as they meander in an S-shaped pattern in and out of it. This process takes advantage of the bent geometry of the shear layer caused by the DKI–KHI interaction and is responsible for most of the highest-energy particles produced in our simulations. These results further our understanding of dissipation and particle acceleration at intermittent structures, which are present in plasma turbulence across a wide range of astrophysical contexts such as in active galactic nucleus jet sheaths, potentially relevant to limb-brightened emission, etc., and highlight the sensitivity of dissipation to multiple interacting instabilities, thus providing a strong motivation for further studies of their nonlinear interaction at the kinetic level.

Authors: Tsung, THN; Werner, G; Uzdensky, DA; Begelman, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: Journal of Plasma Physics
• Volume: 92
• Issue: 2
• Article number: E41
• Publication date: 2026-03-30
• Acceptance date: 2026-02-21
• DOI: 10.1017/s0022377826101482
• EISSN: 1469-7807
• ISSN: 0022-3778
• Language: English
• Keywords: Astrophysical Plasmas; Plasma Instabilities