Related papers: Relativistic shock acceleration and some consequen…
This article introduces a physically realistic model for explaining how electromagnetic waves can be internally generated, propagate and interact in strongly magnetized plasmas or in nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. It studies high…
Physics of GRB blast waves is discussed with a focus on two effects: (1) pair creation in the external medium by the gamma-ray front and (2) decay of neutrons ahead of the decelerating blast wave. Both effects impact the afterglow mechanism…
We present some recent developments in the theory of particle acceleration at shock fronts in the presence of dynamical reaction of the accelerated particles and self-generation of magnetic field due to streaming instability. The spectra of…
A shock wave propagating perpendicularly to an ambient magnetic field accelerates particles considerably faster than in the parallel propagation regime. However, the perpendicular acceleration stops after the shock overruns a circular…
Models of gamma ray bursts are reviewed in the light of recent observations of afterglows which point towards a cosmological origin. The physics of fireball shock models is discussed, with attention to the type of light histories and…
The recently discovered GRB afterglow is believed to be described reasonably well by synchrotron emission from a slowing down relativistic shell that collides with an external medium. To compare theoretical models with afterglow…
We discuss the most recent developments in our understanding of the acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays up to the highest energies. In particular we specialize our discussion to three issues: 1) developments in the theory of…
We review recent progress on collisionless relativistic shocks. Kinetic instability theory is briefed including its predictions and limitations. The main focus is on numerical experiments in (i) pair and (ii) electron-nucleon plasmas. The…
Using the Monte Carlo simulations we apply a method of discrete small amplitude particle momentum scattering to reproduce highly anisotropic conditions at relativistic shocks. We discusse acceleration times scales in relativistic shocks.…
We investigate shock structure and particle acceleration in relativistic magnetized collisionless pair shocks by means of 2.5D and 3D particle-in-cell simulations. We explore a range of inclination angles between the pre-shock magnetic…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Cosmic rays are charged particles that are accelerated to relativistic speeds by astrophysical shocks. Numerical models have been successful in confirming the acceleration process for (quasi-)parallel shocks, which have the magnetic field…
If taken into account, the transmission of the particle-scattering turbulence --in addition to just the particles-- through the shock front can change the effective compression ratio felt by the accelerating particles significantly from the…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) as the most energetic explosions in the modern universe have been studied over half a century, but the physics of the particle acceleration and radiation responsible for their observed spectral behaviors are still…
We discuss the phenomenon of energization of relativistic charged particles in three-dimensional (3D) incompressible MHD turbulence and the diffusive properties of the motion of the same particles. We show that the random electric field…
The discoveries that GRBs have X-ray, optical and radio afterglows have connected the study of GRBs to the rest of astronomy, and revolutionized the field. In this review, I discuss the implications that the observation of these afterglows…
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…