Related papers: Synchrotron-limited Particle Acceleration in Relat…
We explore a new mechanism for photon energy gain in a relativistic plasma with velocity shear. This process takes place in optically thick plasma and resembles conventional Fermi acceleration, where photons undergo multiple scatterings…
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and their relativistic jets are believed to be potential sites of ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic ray acceleration. This paper reviews basic observational findings as well as requirements on source energetics,…
Relativistic current sheets have been proposed as the sites of dissipation in pulsar winds, jets in active galaxies and other Poynting-flux dominated flows. It is shown that the steady versions of these structures differ from their…
The nature of the intense X-ray emission from powerful extragalactic jets at large ($>1$ kpc) scale is still debated. The scenario that invokes the inverse Compton scattering of the CMB by electrons is challenged by the lack of gamma-ray…
Both observational evidence and theoretical considerations from MHD simulations of jets suggest that the relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are radially stratified, with a fast inner spine surrounded by a slower-moving outer…
Particle energization in shear flows is invoked to explain non-thermal emission from the boundaries of relativistic astrophysical jets. Yet, the physics of particle injection, i.e., the mechanism that allows thermal particles to participate…
Magnetic field-aligned electric fields are characteristic features of magnetic reconnection processes operating in externally agitated magnetized plasmas. An especially interesting environment for such a process are the coronae of accretion…
A review of theoretical results on cosmic ray first-order Fermi acceleration at relativistic shock waves is presented, with recent results substantially changing the existing knowledge on these processes. In particular one can not expect…
Centrifugal acceleration of charged test particles at the base of a rotating jet magnetosphere is considered. Based on an analysis of forces we derive the equation for the radial accelerated motion and present an analytical solution. It is…
We study the acceleration, transport, and emission of particles in relativistic jets. Localized stochastic particle acceleration, spatial diffusion, and synchrotron as well as synchrotron self-Compton emission are considered in a leptonic…
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…
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,…
Fermi Gamma ray Space Telescope measurements of spectra, variability time scale, and maximum photon energy give lower limits to the apparent jet powers and, through gammagamma opacity arguments, the bulk Lorentz factors of relativistic…
We propose the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) scenario coupled with filamentary jet model, to reproduce the very high energy $\gamma$-ray emissions from Cen A. With reference to self-similarity of knot-like features in the jet, we assume…
The relaxation of field-line tension during magnetic reconnection gives rise to a universal Fermi acceleration process involving the curvature drift of particles. However, the efficiency of this mechanism is limited by the trapping of…
The near-IR and X-ray flares in Sagittarius A* are believed to be produced by relativistic electrons via synchrotron and synchrotron self-Comptonization, respectively. These electrons are likely energized by turbulent plasma waves through…
I review the current status of Fermi acceleration theory at relativistic shocks. I first discuss the relativistic shock jump conditions, then describe the non-relativistic Fermi mechanism and the differences introduced by relativistic…
Adopting the hypothesis that the nonthermal emission of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is primarily due to the acceleration of protons, we construct a simple model in which the interplay of acceleration and losses can be studied together with…
Recent experimental and theoretical results have demonstrated the possibility of accelerating electrons in the MeV range by focusing tightly a few-cycle laser beam in ambient air. Using Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations, this configuration…
We examine the possibility that the relativistic jets observed in many active galactic nuclei may be powered by the Fermi acceleration of protons in a tenuous corona above a two-temperature accretion disk. In this picture the acceleration…