Shock waves are sites of efficient energy dissipation where directed kinetic energy is converted into heat and potentially other forms of energy. As astrophysical shocks are typically collisionless (Coulomb collisions can be neglected to a good approximation), the energy must be dissipated through collective electromagnetic processes, and a significant fraction of the dissipated energy may be converted into magnetic fields and non-thermal particles. The theory of how particles are accelerated at shocks into non-thermal power-law like distributions is now well established, although it is increasingly evident that we must understand the interplay between the accelerating particles and the plasmas that support the magnetic field fluctuations that ultimately dictate the energetic particle transport. I will review the current status of the limits of shock acceleration in different environments, and highlight some recent observational developments.

Dr. Reville received his PhD from the University College Dublin, Ireland in 2007. Following 2 postdoctoral positions, one as an Alexander von Humboldt fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, and another at University of Oxford, in 2013, Dr. Reville took up a permanent academic post at the Centre for Plasma Physics at Queen's University Belfast, UK. There he worked for several years on laser plasma simulations and experiments, mostly focussed on the emerging field of so-called laboratory astrophysics. In 2019 Dr. Reville returned to the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear physics to start a new Astrophysical Plasma Theory (APT) group.