Related papers: Quasi-thermal Comptonization and gamma-ray bursts
We present theoretical expectations for non-thermal emission due to the bulk Comptonization at the ultra-relativistic shock breakout. We calculate the transfer of photons emitted from the shocked matter with a Monte Carlo code fully taking…
We study the properties of plasmas containing a low energy thermal photon component at comoving temperature \theta \equiv kT'/m_e c^2 \sim 10^{-5} - 10^{-2} interacting with an energetic electron component, characteristic of, e.g., the…
In high energy astrophysics scenarios such as blazars, GRBs or PWNe, it is highly probable that ultra-relativistic particles interact with photons in their environment through scattering. As long as the energy of the particle is greater…
We perform two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection in magnetically dominated electron-positron plasmas subject to strong Compton cooling. We vary the magnetization $\sigma\gg1$, defined as the ratio of magnetic tension…
We consider the formation of photon spectrum at the photosphere of ultrarelativistically expanding outflow. We use the Fokker-Planck approximation to the Boltzmann equation, and obtain the generalized Kompaneets equation which takes into…
This article presents a new particle beam cooling scheme, namely cyclotron maser cooling (CMC). Relativistic gyrating particles, forced by a solenoidal magnetic field over some length of their trajectory, move in a helical path and undergo…
Growing evidence suggests that synchrotron radiation plays a significant role in shaping the spectra of most $\gamma$-ray bursts. The relativistic jets producing them likely carry a significant fraction of energy in the form of a Poynting…
Relativistic jets launched by rotating black holes are powerful emitters of non-thermal radiation. Extraction of the rotational energy via electromagnetic stresses produces magnetically-dominated jets, which may become turbulent. Studies of…
The X-ray spectra of many active galactic nuclei (AGN) show a soft X-ray excess below 1-2 keV on top of the extrapolated high- energy power law. The origin of this component is uncertain. It could be a signature of relativistically blurred,…
Emission from X-ray binaries in the hard spectral state is dominated by high-energy radiation attributed to the Compton scattering of seed photons. The prevalent model of the Comptonization by hot electrons or pairs faces the problem of…
The recent claim by Coburn & Boggs to have detected a very high degree of linear polarization in the prompt emission of GRB 021206 has stimulated interest in how much polarization could arise in gamma-ray bursts from synchrotron emission.…
Relativistically expanding sources of X-rays and gamma-rays cover an enormous range of (central) compactness and Lorentz factor. The underlying physics is discussed, with an emphasis on how the dominant dissipative mode and the emergent…
Synchrotron is considered the dominant emission mechanism in the production of gamma-ray burst photons in the prompt as well as in the afterglow phase. Polarization is a characteristic feature of synchrotron and its study can reveal a…
The origin of dramatically different electron distributions responsible for Comptonization in black hole X-ray binaries (BHBs) in their various states is discussed. We solve the coupled kinetic equations for photons and electrons without…
Sari, Piran, and Narayan have derived analytic formulas to model the spectra from gamma-ray burst blast waves that are energized by sweeping up material from the surrounding medium. We extend these expressions to apply to general radiative…
Within the standard internal shock scenario, synchrotron emission would produce a spectrum with slope F(v) proportional to v^(-1/2), as immediate consequence of the cooling timescale being shorter than the integration time. This is in…
A thermal radiative component is likely to accompany the first stages of the prompt emission of Gamma-ray bursts (GRB's) and X-ray flashes (XRF's). We analyze the effect of such a component on the observable spectrum, assuming that the…
Relativistic electrons moving into a highly tangled magnetic field emit jitter radiation. We present a detailed computation of the jitter radiation spectrum, including self-absorption, for electrons inside Weibel-like shock generated…
In this paper we review the possible radiation mechanisms for the observed non-thermal emission in clusters of galaxies, with a primary focus on the radio and hard X-ray emission. We show that the difficulty with the non-thermal,…
Recent observations of excess radiation at extreme ultraviolet and hard X-ray energies straddling the well known thermal soft X-ray emission have provided new tools and puzzles for investigation of the acceleration of nonthermal particles…