Acceleration Mechanics in Relativistic Shocks by the Weibel Instability

Plasma instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks may be responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated long-term particle acceleration associated with relativistic electron-ion or electron-positron jet fronts propagating into an unmagnetized ambient electron-ion or electron-positron plasma. These simulations have been performed with a longer simulation system than our previous simulations in order to investigate the nonlinear stage of the Weibel instability and its particle acceleration mechanism. The current channels generated by the Weibel instability are surrounded by toroidal magnetic fields and radial electric fields. This radial electric field is quasi stationary and accelerates particles which are then deflected by the magnetic field.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, A full resolution ot the paper can be found at http://gammaray.nsstc.nasa.gov/~nishikawa/accmec.pd

Weibel instability and associated strong fields in a fully 3D simulation of a relativistic shock

Plasma instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) excited in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a new 3-D relativistic particle-in-cell code, we have investigated the particle acceleration and shock structure associated with an unmagnetized relativistic electron-positron jet propagating into an unmagnetized electron-positron plasma. The simulation has been performed using a long simulation system in order to study the nonlinear stages of the Weibel instability, the particle acceleration mechanism, and the shock structure. Cold jet electrons are thermalized and slowed while the ambient electrons are swept up to create a partially developed hydrodynamic (HD) like shock structure. In the leading shock, electron density increases by a factor of 3.5 in the simulation frame. Strong electromagnetic fields are generated in the trailing shock and provide an emission site. We discuss the possible implication of our simulation results within the AGN and GRB context.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, ApJ Letters, in pres

Simulation of electrostatic ion instabilities in the presence of parallel currents and transverse electric fields

A spatially two-dimensional electrostatic PIC simulation code was used to study the stability of a plasma equilibrium characterized by a localized transverse dc electric field and a field-aligned drift for L is much less than Lx, where Lx is the simulation length in the x direction and L is the scale length associated with the dc electric field. It is found that the dc electric field and the field-aligned current can together play a synergistic role to enable the excitation of electrostatic waves even when the threshold values of the field aligned drift and the E x B drift are individually subcritical. The simulation results show that the growing ion waves are associated with small vortices in the linear stage, which evolve to the nonlinear stage dominated by larger vortices with lower frequencies

Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Field Generation, and Associated Emission in Collisionless Relativistic Jets

Nonthermal radiation observed from astrophysical systems containing relativistic jets and shocks, e.g., active galactic nuclei (AGNs), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and Galactic microquasar systems usually have power-law emission spectra. Recent PIC simulations using injected relativistic electron-ion (electro-positron) jets show that acceleration occurs within the downstream jet. Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, other two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields. These magnetic fields contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The ``jitter'' radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which assumes a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, contributed talk at the workshop: High Energy Phenomena in Relativistic Outflows (HEPRO), Dublin, 24-28 September 2007. Fig. 3 is replaced by the correct versio

Particle Acceleration in Relativistic Jets due to Weibel Instability

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The ``jitter'' radiation (Medvedev 2000) from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.Comment: ApJ, in press, Sept. 20, 2003 (figures with better resolution: http://gammaray.nsstc.nasa.gov/~nishikawa/apjweib.pdf

Particle Acceleration and Radiation associated with Magnetic Field Generation from Relativistic Collisionless Shocks

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The ``jitter'' radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Proceedings of 2003 Gamma Ray Burst Conferenc

Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Field Generation in Electron-Positron Relativistic Shocks

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic electron-positron jet front propagating into an ambient electron-positron plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find small differences in the results for no ambient and modest ambient magnetic fields. New simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. Furthermore, the non-linear fluctuation amplitudes of densities, currents, electric, and magnetic fields in the electron-positron shock are larger than those found in the electron-ion shock studied in a previous paper at the comparable simulation time. This comes from the fact that both electrons and positrons contribute to generation of the Weibel instability. Additionally, we have performed simulations with different electron skin depths. We find that growth times scale inversely with the plasma frequency, and the sizes of structures created by the Weibel instability scale proportional to the electron skin depth. This is the expected result and indicates that the simulations have sufficient grid resolution. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields which contribute to the electron's (positron's) transverse deflection behind the jet head.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, revised and accepted for ApJ, A full resolution of the paper can be found at http://gammaray.nsstc.nasa.gov/~nishikawa/apjep1.pd

Relativistic particle acceleration in an electron–positron plasma with a relativistic electron beam

Results from three‐dimensional electromagnetic particle simulations of an electron–positron plasma with a relativistic electron beam (γ=2) are presented. As part of the initial conditions, a poloidal magnetic field is specified, consistent with the current carried by the beam electrons. The beam undergoes pinching oscillations due to the pressure imbalance. A transverse two‐stream instability is excited with large helical perturbations. In the process, background electrons and positrons are heated and accelerated up to relativistic energy levels. Only background electrons are accelerated farther along the z direction due the synergetic effects by both the damped transverse mode and the accompanying electrostatic waves caused by the breakdown of the helical perturbations. © 1994 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70513/2/PHPAEN-1-12-4114-1.pd

Particle acceleration, magnetic field generation, and emission in relativistic pair jets

Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating into an ambient plasma. We find that the growth times of Weibel instability are proportional to the Lorentz factors of jets. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Il nuovo cimento (4th Workshop Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Afterglow Era, Rome, 18-22 October 2004

Study of nonlinear Alfvén waves in an electron–positron plasma with a three‐dimensional electromagnetic particle code

Results from three‐dimensional (3‐D) electromagnetic particle simulations of Alfvén waves generated by an electron beam in a nonrelativistic electron–positron plasma are presented. The results show that electrostatic modes are excited due to the beam instability. The bunches of the particles (electrons and positrons) caused by electrostatic waves are directly involved in the generation of Alfvén waves. The Alfvén waves propagate along the beam as damped solitons accelerating the background particles. The simulation results are in good agreement with theoretical analysis.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69730/2/PHPAEN-1-1-103-1.pd