Related papers: Radiative Signatures of Relativistic Shocks
We investigate the acceleration and simultaneous radiative losses of electrons in the vicinity of relativistic shocks. Particles undergo pitch angle diffusion, gaining energy as they cross the shock by the Fermi mechanism and also emitting…
Energetic electrons are a common feature of interplanetary shocks and planetary bow shocks, and they are invoked as a key component of models of nonthermal radio emission, such as solar radio bursts. A simulation study is carried out of…
MeV seed photons produced in shocks in a variable ultra-relativistic outflow gain energy by the Fermi mechanism, because the photons Compton scatter off relativistically colliding shells. The Fermi-modified high-energy photon spectrum has a…
The physics of collisionless relativistic shocks with a moderate magnetization is presented. Micro-physics is relevant to explain the most energetic radiative phenomena of Nature, namely that of the termination shock of Gamma Ray Bursts. A…
A high energy power law is a common feature in the spectra of many astrophysical objects. We show that the photons in a relativistic plasma with a variable Lorentz factor go through repeated scattering with electrons to gain energy. The…
After a successful development of theoretical and numerical works on Fermi acceleration at relativistic shocks, some difficulties recently raised with the scattering issue, a crucial aspect of the process. Most pioneering works were…
The outflows from gamma ray bursts, active galactic nuclei and relativistic jets in general interact with the surrounding media through collisionless shocks. With three dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell simulations we investigate…
We explore the physics of relativistic radiation mediated shocks (RRMSs) in the regime where photon advection dominates over photon generation. For this purpose, a novel iterative method for deriving a self-consistent steady-state structure…
Sub-photospheric shock dissipation is one of the main proposed mechanisms for producing the prompt gamma-ray burst (GRB) emission. Such shocks are mediated by scattering of radiation. We introduce a time dependent, special relativistic code…
Relativistic sources, e.g. gamma-ray bursts, pulsar wind nebulae and powerful active galactic nuclei produce relativistic outflows that lead to the formation of collisionless shock waves, where particle acceleration is thought to take…
A property common to several different astrophysical sources of high-energy gamma-rays is the presence of bulk motion at relativistic speed. The intrinsic spectra of the nonthermal radiating particles also show interesting similarities,…
In recent work we suggested that photons of energy >100 MeV detected from GRBs by the Fermi Satellite are produced via synchrotron emission in the external forward shock with a weak magnetic field - consistent with shock compressed upstream…
It is shown that an ultrarelativistic shock with the Lorentz factor of order of tens or higher propagating in a moderately dense interstellar medium (density above $\sim 1000 $ cm$^{-3}$) undergoes a fast dramatic transformation into a…
Unsteady activity of gamma-ray burst sources leads to internal shocks in their emergent relativistic wind. We study the emission spectra from such shocks, assuming that they produce a power-law distribution of relativistic electrons and…
Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks e.g. gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and microquasars commonly exhibit power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC simulations…
A system of equations governing the structure of a steady, relativistic radiation dominated shock is derived, starting from the general form of the transfer equation obeyed by the photon distribution function. Closure is obtained by…
The afterglow emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is usually interpreted as synchrotron radiation from electrons accelerated at the GRB external shock, that propagates with relativistic velocities into the magnetized interstellar medium.…
It is widely believed that the maximum energy of synchrotron photons when electrons are accelerated in shocks via the Fermi process is about 50 MeV (in plasma comoving frame). We show that under certain conditions, which are expected to be…
Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and microquasars commonly exhibit power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC…
We consider the radiative acceleration to relativistic bulk velocities of a cold, optically thin plasma which is exposed to an external source of gamma-rays. The flow is driven by radiative momentum input to the gas, the accelerating force…