Related papers: Colliding-Wind Binaries as a Source of TeV Cosmic …
By means of self-consistent 3D MHD numerical simulations, we analyze magnetized solar-like stellar winds and their dependence on the plasma-beta parameter. We adopt in our simulations a heating parameter described by gamma, which is…
We review the physics of relativistic shocks, which are often invoked as the sources of non-thermal particles in pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets, and as possible sources of…
We present new data from High Energy Density (HED) laboratory experiments designed to explore the interaction of a heavy hypersonic radiative jet with a cross wind. The jets are generated with the MAGPIE pulsed power machine where…
Twisted magnetic fields should be ubiquitous in flare-producing active regions where the magnetic fields are strongly non-potential. It has been shown that reconnection in helical magnetic coronal loops results in plasma heating and…
It is proposed that TeV gamma-rays and neutrinos can be produced by cosmic rays (CRs) through hadronic interactions in the innermost parts of the winds of massive O and B stars. Convection prevents low-energy particles from penetrating into…
We propose collisionless damping of fast MHD waves as an important mechanism for the heating and acceleration of winds from rotating stars. Stellar rotation causes magnetic field lines anchored at the surface to form a spiral pattern and…
WR+O star binary systems exhibit synchrotron emission arising from relativistic electrons accelerated where the wind of the WR star and that of its massive binary companion collide - the wind-collision region (WCR). These ``colliding-wind''…
Advances in X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy have opened a new window on our universe and revealed a wide variety of binaries composed of a compact object and a Be star. In Be X-ray binaries, a neutron star accretes the Be disk and truncates…
Pulsar wind nebulae are efficient particle accelerators, and yet the processes at work remain elusive. Self-generated, microturbulence is too weak in relativistic magnetized shocks to accelerate particles over a wide energy range,…
Cosmic rays are energetic nuclei that permeate the entire Galactic disk. Their existence requires the presence of powerful particle accelerators. While Galactic supernova explosions may supply the required energy, there is growing evidence…
After introduction we focus on: the transport of charged particles, the acceleration of ions at shocks, and the acceleration of electrons at shocks. Chapter 2 studies the propagation of solar energetic particles(SEPs) in turbulent magnetic…
Collisionless plasma shocks are efficient sources of non-thermal particle acceleration in space and astrophysical systems. We use hybrid (kinetic ions -- fluid electrons) simulations to examine the non-linear feedback of the self-generated…
Radio observations are an effective tool to discover particle acceleration regions in colliding-wind binaries, through detection of synchrotron radiation; these regions are natural laboratories for the study of relativistic particles.…
The relativistic wind of obliquely-rotating pulsars consists of toroidal stripes of opposite magnetic field polarity, separated by current sheets of hot plasma. By means of two- and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we…
Using a three dimensional relativistic particle-in-cell code we have performed numerical experiments of plasma shells colliding at relativistic velocities. Such scenarios are found in many astrophysical objects e.g. the relativistic outflow…
Plasma processes close to SNR shocks result in the amplification of magnetic fields and in the acceleration of electrons, injecting them into the diffusive acceleration mechanism. The acceleration of electrons and the B field amplification…
LS 5039 and LSI +61 303 are unique amongst high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXB) for their spatially-resolved radio emission and their counterpart at >GeV gamma-ray energies, canonically attributed to non-thermal particles in an accretion-powered…
In this work, we investigate collisionless shocks propagating in a relativistically hot unmagnetized electron-positron plasmas. We estimate the dissipation fraction at shocks in the relativistically hot plasma, showing that it is…
The high luminosity of massive, early-type stars drives strong stellar winds through line scattering of the stars continuum radiation. Their momenta contribute substantially to the dynamics and energetics of the ambient interstellar medium…
We investigate the hydrodynamics of the interaction of two supersonic winds in binary systems. The collision of the winds creates two shocks separated by a contact discontinuity. The overall structure depends on the momentum flux ratio eta…