Efficiency of the centrifugally induced curvature drift instability in AGN winds

For studying how the field lines are twisting nearby the light cylinder surface, which provides the free motion of AGN winds through the mentioned area, the investigation of the centrifugally driven curvature drift instability is presented. Studying the dynamics of the relativistic MHD flow close to the light cylinder surface, by applying a single particle approach based on the centrifugal acceleration, the dispersion relation of the instability is derived and analytically solved. Considering the typical values of AGN winds, it is shown that the time scale of the curvature drift instability is much less than the accretion process time scale, indicating that the present instability is very efficient and might strongly influence processes in AGN plasmas.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Rotationally-driven VHE emission from the Vela pulsar

The recent detection of pulsed $\gamma$-ray emission from the Vela pulsar in the $\sim10$ to 100 GeV range by H.E.S.S. promises an important potential to probe into the very high energy (VHE) radiation mechanisms of pulsars. The recent detection of pulsed $\gamma$-ray emission from the Vela pulsar in the $\sim10$ to 100 GeV range by H.E.S.S. promises an important potential to probe into the very high energy (VHE) radiation mechanisms of pulsars. We analyze achievable particle energies in the magnetosphere of the Vela pulsar, and calculate the resultant emission properties. Inverse Compton up-scattering of thermal photons from the surface of the star is shown to lead a pulsed VHE contribution reaching into the TeV regime with spectral characteristics compatible with current findings. If confirmed by further observations this could be the second case where rotationally-driven processes turn out to be important to understand the VHE emission in young pulsars.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure