Related papers: Radiation- and pair-loaded shocks
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…
Fast shocks that form in optically thick media are mediated by Compton scattering and, if relativistic, pair creation. Since the radiation force acts primarily on electrons and positrons, the question arises of how the force is mediated to…
We calculate the structure of a relativistic shock wave in which the internal energy of the shocked fluid is radiated away on a time scale much shorter than the characteristic shock propagation time. The shock is assumed to move through a…
We investigate the effect of pair creation on a shock structure. Actually, particles accelerated by a shock can be sufficiently energetic to boost, via Inverse Compton (IC) process for example, surrounding soft photons above the rest mass…
We point out that for sufficiently strong shocks, with Mach number $ M_1 > \sqrt{\frac{3 \gamma -1}{(3-\gamma ) \gamma }}= 1.34$ ($\gamma=5/3$), the solutions for cosmic ray-modified shocks experiences a bifurcation. As a result, for…
Radiative shocks, behind which gas cools faster than the dynamical time, play a key role in many astrophysical transients, including classical novae and young supernovae interacting with circumstellar material. The dense layer behind high…
Relativistic radiation mediated shocks (RRMS) likely form in prodigious cosmic explosions. The structure and emission of such shocks is regulated by copious production of electron-positron pairs inside the shock transition layer. It has…
We considered the structure of steady-state radiative shock waves propagating in the partially ionized hydrogen gas with density rho1 = 1e-10 gm/cm^3 and temperature 3000K <= T1 <= 8000K. The radiative shock wave models with electron…
Shocks are often invoked as heating mechanisms in astrophysical systems, with both adiabatic compression and dissipative heating that leading to temperature increases. Whilst shocks are reasonably well understood for ideal…
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…
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…
The structure of relativistic radiation mediated shocks (RRMS) propagating into a cold electron-proton plasma is calculated and analyzed. A qualitative discussion of the physics of relativistic and non relativistic shocks, including order…
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…
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…
Matter accreting onto black holes may develop shocks due to the centrifugal barrier. A part of inflowing matter in the post-shock flow is deflected along the axis in the form of jets. Post-shock flow which behaves like a Compton cloud has…
Shocks in relativistically hot plasmas are thought to exist in various high-energy astrophysical phenomena, but it is not clear how relativistic collisionless shocks are formed, whether particles are accelerated by the shock as in the case…
The expansion of a dense plasma through a more rarefied ionised medium is a phenomenon of interest in various physics environments ranging from astrophysics to high energy density laser- matter laboratory experiments. Here this situation is…
In shockwave theory, the density, velocity and pressure jumps are derived from the conservation equations. Here, we address the physics of a weak shock the other way around. We first show that the density profile of a weak shockwave in a…
Perpendicular relativistic ($\gamma_0=10$) shocks in magnetized pair plasmas are investigated using two dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations. A systematic survey, from unmagnetized to strongly magnetized shocks, is presented accurately…
The radiation drag in photon-rich environments of cosmic explosions can seed kinetic instabilities by inducing velocity spreads between relativistically streaming plasma components. Such microturbulence is likely imprinted on the breakout…