Simulating astrophysical shocks with a combined PIC MHD code

Astrophysical shocks accelerate particles to high velocities, which we observe as cosmic rays. The acceleration process changes the nature of the shock because the particles interact with the local magnetic field, removing energy and potentially triggering instabilities. In order to simulate this process, we need a computational method that can handle large scale structures while, at the same time, following the motion of individual particles. We achieve this by combining the grid magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) method with the particle-in-cell (PIC) approach. MHD can be used to simulate the thermal gas that forms the majority of the gas near the shock, while the PIC method allows us to model the interactions between the magnetic field and those particles that deviate from thermal equilibrium. Using this code, we simulate shocks at various sonic and Alfvenic Mach numbers in order to determine how the behaviour of the shock and the particles depends on local conditions.