Related papers: Quasi-thermal Comptonization and gamma-ray bursts
Although the physical origin of gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission is still controversial, synchrotron radiation from accelerated electrons is a promising mechanism. It is believed that electrons are accelerated continuously by…
We provide simple and accurate analytic approximations for the low frequency double Compton emission coefficient that are applicable in a broad range of physical situations up to mildly relativistic temperatures. These approximations may be…
Using Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) observations at the Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock we demonstrate that electrons are heated by two different mechanisms: a quasi-adiabatic heating process during magnetic field compression,…
We develop a new theoretical model for the spectral formation process in accretion-powered X-ray pulsars based on a detailed treatment of the bulk and thermal Comptonization occurring in the accreting, shocked gas. A rigorous eigenfunction…
The long-lasting tension between the observed spectra of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and the predicted synchrotron emission spectrum might be solved if electrons do not completely cool. Evidence for incomplete cooling was recently found in…
We study the spectra generated as a result of bulk Comptonization by relativistic electrons in radial flows onto compact objects. We solve numerically the general-relativistic radiative transfer equation in the Schwarzschild spacetime, in…
We study Compton upscattering of low-frequency photons in a converging flow of thermal plasma. The photons escape diffusively and electron scattering is the dominant source of opacity. We solve numerically and approximately analytically the…
We consider the synchrotron spectrum produced by mildly-to-highly relativistic collisionless shocks. Simple analytic formulae are derived for the break frequencies (peak frequency, self-absorption frequency, synchrotron and inverse Compton…
In external Compton scenario, we investigate the formation of the very hard electron spectrum in the fast-cooling regime, using a time-dependent emission model. It is shown that a very hard electron distribution $N'_{\rm…
Electron-positron pair production by collision of photons is investigated in view of application to pulsar physics. We compute the absorption rate of individual gamma-ray photons by an arbitrary anisotropic distribution of softer photons,…
We present detailed calculations of the electron thermalization by synchrotron self-absorption accounting for cooling by Compton scattering. For the first time, we solve coupled kinetic equations for electrons and photons without any…
Sources of high-energy photons have important applications in almost all areas of research. However, the photon flux and intensity of existing sources is strongly limited for photon energies above a few hundred keV. Here we show that a…
The broadband SEDs of blazars exhibit two broad spectral components, which in leptonic emission models are attributed to synchrotron radiation and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) radiation of relativistic electrons. During high state phases,…
The highly luminous and variable prompt emission in Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) arises in an ultra-relativistic outflow. The exact underlying radiative mechanism shaping its non-thermal spectrum is still uncertain, making it hard to determine…
The prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts probably comes from a highly relativistic wind which converts part of its kinetic energy into radiation via the formation of shocks within the wind itself. Such "internal shocks" can occur if the wind…
Particles with energies below the mean energy $E_0$ in relativistic shocked plasmas should assume an equilibrium energy distribution. This leads to a synchrotron spectrum $F_\nu \propto \nu^{1/3}$ up to approximately the critical frequency…
Hard X-ray spectra of black hole binaries in the low/hard state are well modeled by thermal Comptonization of soft seed photons by a corona-type region with $kT$\thinspace$\sim 50${\thinspace}keV and optical depth around 1. Previous…
We study synchrotron self-inverse Compton radiation from a reverse-shocked fireball. If the inverse Compton process dominates the cooling of shocked electrons, an X-ray flare produced by the first order Compton scattering would emerge in…
The hot accretion flow is usually optically thin in the radial direction, therefore the photons produced at one radius can travel for a long distance without being absorbed. These photons thus can heat or cool electrons at other radii via…
A relativistic/QED theory of light pressure on electrons by an isotropic, in particular blackbody radiation predicts thermalization rates of free electrons over entire span of energies available in the lab and the nature. The calculations…