588 research outputs found
Computer simulations of cosmic-ray diffusion near supernova remnant shock waves
A plasma simulation model was used to study the resonant interactions between streaming cosmic-ray ions and a self-consistent spectrum of Alfven waves, such as might exist in the interstellar medium upstream of a supernova remnant shock wave. The computational model is a hybrid one, in which the background interstellar medium is an MHD fluid and the cosmic-rays are discrete kinetic particles. The particle sources for the electromagnetic fields are obtained by averaging over the fast cyclotron motions. When the perturbed magnetic field is larger than 10 percent of the background field, the macro- and microphysics are no longer correctly predicted by quasi-linear theory. The particles are trapped by the waves and show sharp jumps in their pitch-angles relative to the background magnetic field, and the effective ninety-degree scattering time for diffusion parallel to the background magnetic field is reduced to between 5 and 30 cyclotron periods. Simulation results suggest that Type 1 supernova remnants may be the principal sites of cosmic ray acceleration
Acceleration in perpendicular relativistic shocks for plasmas consisting of leptons and hadrons
We investigate the acceleration of light particles in perpendicular shocks
for plasmas consisting of a mixture of leptonic and hadronic particles.
Starting from the full set of conservation equations for the mixed plasma
constituents, we generalize the magneto-hydrodynamical jump conditions for a
multi-component plasma, including information about the specific adiabatic
constants for the different species. The impact of deviations from the standard
model of an ideal gas is compared in theory and particle-in-cell simulations,
showing that the standard-MHD model is a good approximation. The simulations of
shocks in electron-positron-ion plasmas are for the first time
multi-dimensional, transverse effects are small in this configuration and 1D
simulations are a good representation if the initial magnetization is chosen
high. 1D runs with a mass ratio of 1836 are performed, which identify the
Larmor frequency \omega_{ci} as the dominant frequency that determines the
shock physics in mixed component plasmas. The maximum energy in the non-thermal
tail of the particle spectra evolves in time according to a power-law
proportional to t^\alpha with \alpha in the range 1/3 < \alpha < 1, depending
on the initial parameters. A connection is made with transport theoretical
models by Drury (1983) and Gargate & Spitkovsky (2011), which predict an
acceleration time proportional to \gamma and the theory for small wavelength
scattering by Kirk & Reville (2010), which predicts a behavior rather as
proportional to \gamma^2. Furthermore, we compare different magnetic field
orientations with B_0 inside and out of the plane, observing qualitatively
different particle spectra than in pure electron-ion shocks
Understanding and Affecting Student Reasoning About Sound Waves
Student learning of sound waves can be helped through the creation of
group-learning classroom materials whose development and design rely on
explicit investigations into student understanding. We describe reasoning in
terms of sets of resources, i.e. grouped building blocks of thinking that are
commonly used in many different settings. Students in our university physics
classes often used sets of resources that were different from the ones we wish
them to use. By designing curriculum materials that ask students to think about
the physics from a different view, we bring about improvement in student
understanding of sound waves. Our curriculum modifications are specific to our
own classes, but our description of student learning is more generally useful
for teachers. We describe how students can use multiple sets of resources in
their thinking, and raise questions that should be considered by both
instructors and researchers.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, 28 references, 7 notes. Accepted for
publication in the International Journal of Science Educatio
Transverse quasilinear relaxation in inhomogeneous magnetic field
Transverse quasilinear relaxation of the cyclotron-Cherenkov instability in
the inhomogeneous magnetic field of pulsar magnetospheres is considered. We
find quasilinear states in which the kinetic cyclotron-Cherenkov instability of
a beam propagating through strongly magnetized pair plasma is saturated by the
force arising in the inhomogeneous field due to the conservation of the
adiabatic invariant. The resulting wave intensities generally have nonpower law
frequency dependence, but in a broad frequency range can be well approximated
by the power law with the spectral index -2. The emergent spectra and fluxes
are consistent with the one observed from pulsars.Comment: 14 Pages, 4 Figure
A Tale of Two Current Sheets
I outline a new model of particle acceleration in the current sheet
separating the closed from the open field lines in the force-free model of
pulsar magnetospheres, based on reconnection at the light cylinder and
"auroral" acceleration occurring in the return current channel that connects
the light cylinder to the neutron star surface. I discuss recent studies of
Pulsar Wind Nebulae, which find that pair outflow rates in excess of those
predicted by existing theories of pair creation occur, and use those results to
point out that dissipation of the magnetic field in a pulsar's wind upstream of
the termination shock is restored to life as a viable model for the solution of
the "" problem as a consequence of the lower wind 4-velocity implied by
the larger mass loading.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, Invited Review, Proceedings of the "ICREA
Workshop on The High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and their Systems", Sant
Cugat, Spain, April 12-16, 201
Theory of high-energy emission from the pulsar/Be-star system PSR 125963 I: radiation mechanisms and interaction geometry
We study the physical processes of the PSR B1259-63 system containing a 47 ms
pulsar orbiting around a Be star in a highly eccentric orbit. Motivated by the
results of a multiwavelength campaign during the January 1994 periastron
passage of PSR B1259-63, we discuss several issues regarding the mechanism of
high-energy emission. Unpulsed power law emission from the this system was
detected near periastron in the energy range 1-200 keV. We find that the
observed high energy emission from the PSR B1259-63 system is not compatible
with accretion or propeller-powered emission. Shock-powered high-energy
emission produced by the pulsar/outflow interaction is consistent with all high
energy observations. By studying the evolution of the pulsar cavity we
constrain the magnitude and geometry of the mass outflow outflow of the Be
star. The pulsar/outflow interaction is most likely mediated by a collisionless
shock at the internal boundary of the pulsar cavity. The system shows all the
characteristics of a {\it binary plerion} being {\it diffuse} and {\it compact}
near apastron and periastron, respectively. The PSR B1259-63 cavity is subject
to different radiative regimes depending on whether synchrotron or inverse
Compton (IC) cooling dominates the radiation of electron/positron pairs
advected away from the inner boundary of the pulsar cavity. The highly
non-thermal nature of the observed X-ray/gamma-ray emission near periastron
establishes the existence of an efficient particle acceleration mechanism
within a timescale shown to be less than s. A synchrotron/IC
model of emission of e\pm-pairs accelerated at the inner shock front of the
pulsar cavity and adiabatically expanding in the MHD flow provides an excellent
explanation of the observed time variableX-ray flux and spectrum from the PSRComment: 68 pages, accepted for publication in the Astrophys. J. on Aug. 26,
199
LISA, binary stars, and the mass of the graviton
We extend and improve earlier estimates of the ability of the proposed LISA
(Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) gravitational wave detector to place upper
bounds on the graviton mass, m_g, by comparing the arrival times of
gravitational and electromagnetic signals from binary star systems. We show
that the best possible limit on m_g obtainable this way is ~ 50 times better
than the current limit set by Solar System measurements. Among currently known,
well-understood binaries, 4U1820-30 is the best for this purpose; LISA
observations of 4U1820-30 should yield a limit ~ 3-4 times better than the
present Solar System bound. AM CVn-type binaries offer the prospect of
improving the limit by a factor of 10, if such systems can be better understood
by the time of the LISA mission. We briefly discuss the likelihood that radio
and optical searches during the next decade will yield binaries that more
closely approach the best possible case.Comment: ReVTeX 4, 6 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Phys Rev
The X-ray Structure and Spectrum of the Pulsar Wind Nebula Surrounding PSR B1853+01 in W44
We present the result of a Chandra ACIS observation of the pulsar PSR
B1853+01 and its associated pulsar wind nebula (PWN), embedded within the
supernova remnant W44. A hard band ACIS map cleanly distinguishes the PWN from
the thermal emission of W44. The nebula is extended in the north-south
direction, with an extent about half that of the radio emission. Morphological
differences between the X-ray and radio images are apparent. Spectral fitting
reveals a clear difference in spectral index between the hard emission from PSR
B1853+01 (Gamma ~ 1.4) and the extended nebula (Gamma ~ 2.2). The more accurate
values for the X-ray flux and spectral index are used refine estimates for PWN
parameters, including magnetic field strength, the average Lorentz factor,
gamma, of the particles in the wind, the magnetization parameter, sigma, and
the ratio k of electrons to other particles.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Ap
Faraday Rotation in Pulsar Magnetosphere
The magnetosphere of a pulsar is composed of relativistic plasmas streaming
along the magnetic field lines and corotating with the pulsar. We study the
intrinsic Faraday rotation in the pulsar magnetosphere by critically examining
the wave modes and the variations of polarization properties for the circularly
polarized natural modes under various assumptions about the magnetosphere
plasma properties. Since it is difficult to describe analytically the Faraday
rotation effect in such a plasma, we use numerical integrations to study the
wave propagation effects in the corotating magnetosphere. Faraday rotation
effect is identified among other propagation effects, such as wave mode
coupling and the cyclotron absorption. In a highly symmetrical
electron-positron pair plasma, the Faraday rotation effect is found to be
negligible. Only for asymmetrical plasmas, such as the electron-ion streaming
plasma, can the Faraday rotation effect become significant, and the Faraday
rotation angle is found to be approximately proportional to
instead of the usual -law. For such electrons-ion plasma of pulsar
magnetosphere, the induced rotation measure becomes larger at higher
frequencies, and should have opposite signs for the emissions from opposite
magnetic poles.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure, submitted to MNRA
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