Related papers: Relativistic Radiation Mediated Shocks
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…
We report the results of 1D particle-in-cell simulations of ultrarelativistic shock waves in proton-electron-positron plasmas. We consider magnetized shock waves, in which the upstream medium carries a large scale magnetic field, directed…
Particle acceleration in relativistic shocks of electron-positron plasmas with proton admixture is investigated through two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The upstream plasma, with a bulk Lorentz factor of $10$ and a…
The dissipation of turbulent magnetic fields is an appealing scenario to explain the origin of non-thermal particles in high-energy astrophysical sources. However, it has been suggested that the particle distribution may effectively…
(Abbreviated) Particle-in-cell simulations of relativistic, weakly magnetized collisionless shocks show that particles can gain energy by repeatedly crossing the shock front. This requires scattering off self-generated small length-scale…
We have investigated particle acceleration and shock structure associated with an unmagnetized relativistic jet propagating into an unmagnetized plasma. Strong magnetic fields generated in the trailing jet shock lead to transverse…
We numerically study fast Newtonian radiation mediated shocks (RMS - v/c~0.2) in two simplified problems in the context of supernova shock breakout; (1) An RMS traveling in a uniform medium, and (2) an RMS escaping a powerlaw density…
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.…
Relativistic shocks are present in all high-energy astrophysical processes involving relativistic plasma outflows interacting with their ambient medium. While a well understood process in the context of relativistic hydrodynamics and ideal…
We consider the structure of mildly relativistic shocks in dense media, taking into account the radiation and pair loading, and diffusive radiation energy transfer within the flow. For increasing shock velocity (increasing post-shock…
We model relativistically colliding plasma by PIC simulations in one and two spatial dimensions, taking an ion-to-electron mass ratio of 400. Energy dissipation by a wave precursor of mixed polarity and different densities of the colliding…
Internal shocks between propagating plasma shells, originally ejected at different times with different velocities are believed to play a major role in dissipating the kinetic energy, thereby explaining the observed lightcurve and spectra…
We derive expressions for the time integrated spectrum of Cosmic Rays (CRs) that are accelerated in a decelerating relativistic shock wave and escape ahead of the shock. It is assumed that at any given time the CRs have a power law form,…
We consider a fast magnetosonic multifluid shock as a representation of the solar-wind termination shock. We assume the action of the transition happens in a three-step process: In the first step, the upstream supersonic solar-wind plasma…
We analyze the main features of radiation-mediated shocks at arbitrary shock velocities, both non-relativistic and relativistic. We describe two mechanisms, which may lead to formation of a sharp viscous subshock within otherwise smooth…
An equation is derived to calculate the dynamics of relativistic magnetized plasma which decelerates by sweeping up matter from the ISM. Reduction to the non-radiative and radiative regimes is demonstrated. The evolving electron momentum…
Generalization of the self-similar solution for ultrarelativistic shock waves (Blandford & McKee, 1976) is obtained in presence of losses localized on the shock front or distributed in the downstream medium. It is shown that there are two…
The radiative acceleration of particles and the electrostatic potential fields that arise in low density plasmas hit by radiation produced by a transient, compact source are investigated. We calculate the dynamical evolution and asymptotic…
In this paper, the first in a series, we present a new theoretical model for the global structure and dissipation of relativistically magnetized collisionless shock waves. Quite remarkably, we find that in contrast to unmagnetized shocks,…
We consider the effects of rapid pair creation by an intense pulse of gamma-rays propagating ahead of a relativistic shock. Side-scattered photons colliding with the main gamma-ray beam amplify the density of scattering charges. The…