Related papers: Particle Acceleration at Relativistic Shocks in Ex…
Monte-Carlo computations for highly relativistic parallel shock particle acceleration are presented for upstream flow gamma factors, $\Gamma=(1-V_{1}^{2}/c^{2})^{-0.5}$ with values between 5 and $10^{3}$. The results show that the spectral…
We shortly discuss several astrophysical scenarios leading to cosmic ray acceleration up to extremely high energies reaching the scale of 10^{20} eV. The processes suggested in the literature include acceleration at relativistic jet…
The direct measurements of cosmic rays (CRs), after correction for the propagation effects in the interstellar medium, indicate that their source spectra are likely to be significantly steeper than the canonical $E^{-2}$ spectrum predicted…
Diffusive shock acceleration at collisionless shocks is thought to be the source of many of the energetic particles observed in space. Large-scale spatial variations of the magnetic field has been shown to be important in understanding…
The observed energy spectra of accelerated particles at interplanetary shocks often do not match the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) theory predictions. In some cases, the particle flux forms a plateau over a wide range of energies,…
It is widely accepted that the prompt transient signal in the 10 keV - 10 GeV band from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) arises from multiple shocks internal to the ultra-relativistic expansion. The detailed understanding of the dissipation and…
Cosmic ray (CR) spectra, both measured upon their arrival at the Earth's atmosphere and inferred from the emission in supernova remnants (SNRs), appear to be significantly steeper than the "standard" diffusive shock acceleration (DSA)…
Radio relics associated with merging galaxy clusters indicate the acceleration of relativistic electrons in merger-driven shocks with low sonic Mach numbers ($M_{\rm s}\lesssim 3$) in the intracluster medium (ICM). Recent studies have…
Radio relics in merging galaxy clusters are widely interpreted as synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons accelerated at large-scale shocks. However, the efficiency of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) is expected to be reduced in…
Electron acceleration to non-thermal, ultra-relativistic energies (~ 10-100 TeV) is revealed by radio and X-ray observations of shocks in young supernova remnants (SNRs). The diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) mechanism is usually invoked…
In this thesis different numerical methods, as well as applications of the methods to a number of current problems in relativistic astrophysics, are presented. In the first part the theoretical foundation and numerical implementation of a…
Extragalactic plasma jets are some of the few astrophysical environments able to confine ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, but whether they are capable of accelerating these particles is unknown. In this work, we revisit particle acceleration…
Nonthermal relativistic plasmas are ubiquitous in astrophysical systems like pulsar wind nebulae and active galactic nuclei, as inferred from their emission spectra. The underlying nonthermal particle acceleration (NTPA) processes have…
Although many of the observed properties of giant radio relics detected in the outskirts of galaxy clusters can be explained by relativistic electrons accelerated at merger-driven shocks, significant puzzles remain. In the case of the…
A shock-accelerated particle flux \propto p^-s, where p is the particle momentum, follows from simple theoretical considerations of cosmic-ray acceleration at nonrelativistic shocks followed by rigidity-dependent escape into the Galactic…
Collisionless shocks with low sonic Mach numbers, $M_{\rm s} \lesssim 4$, are expected to accelerate cosmic ray (CR) protons via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) in the intracluster medium (ICM). However, observational evidence for CR…
We include a general form for the scattering mean free path in a nonlinear Monte Carlo model of relativistic shock formation and Fermi acceleration. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, as well as analytic work, suggest that relativistic…
The flux of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) at $E>10^{18.5}$ eV is believed to arise in plasma shock environments in extragalactic sources. In this paper, we present a systematic study of particle acceleration by relativistic shocks,…
Cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of large scale structure in the universe have shown that accretion shocks and merger shocks form due to flow motions associated with the gravitational collapse of nonlinear structures. Estimated speed…
The spectral index $s$ of particles diffusively accelerated in a relativistic shock depends on the unknown angular diffusion function $\mathcal{D}$, which itself depends on the particle distribution function $f$ if acceleration is…