arXiv subjects

B. Reville

Publications and source records attributed to B. Reville.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Generation of a neutral, high-density electron-positron plasma in the laboratory

We report on the laser-driven generation of purely neutral, relativistic electron-positron pair plasmas. The overall charge neutrality, high average Lorentz factor ($γ_{e/p} \approx 15$), small divergence ($θ_{e/p} \approx 10 - 20$ mrad), and high density ($n_{e/p}\simeq 10^{15}$cm$^{-3}$) of these plasmas open the pathway for the experimental study of the dynamics of this exotic state of matter, in regimes that are of relevance to electron-positron astrophysical plasmas.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2014

Multi-dimensional simulations of the expanding supernova remnant of SN 1987A

The expanding remnant from SN 1987A is an excellent laboratory for investigating the physics of supernovae explosions. There are still a large number of outstanding questions, such the reason for the asymmetric radio morphology, the structure of the pre-supernova environment, and the efficiency of particle acceleration at the supernova shock. We explore these questions using three-dimensional simulations of the expanding remnant between days 820 and 10,000 after the supernova. We combine a hydrodynamical simulation with semi-analytic treatments of diffusive shock acceleration and magnetic field amplification to derive radio emission as part of an inverse problem. Simulations show that an asymmetric explosion, combined with magnetic field amplification at the expanding shock, is able to replicate the persistent one-sided radio morphology of the remnant. We use an asymmetric Truelove & McKee progenitor with an envelope mass of $10 M_{\sun}$ and an energy of $1.5 \times 10^{44} J$. A termination shock in the progenitor's stellar wind at a distance of $0\farcs43-0\farcs51$ provides a good fit to the turn on of radio emission around day 1200. For the H\textsc{ii} region, a minimum distance of $0\farcs63\pm0\farcs01$ and maximum particle number density of $(7.11\pm1.78) \times 10^7$ m$^{-3}$ produces a good fit to the evolving average radius and velocity of the expanding shocks from day 2000 to day 7000 after explosion. The model predicts a noticeable reduction, and possibly a temporary reversal, in the asymmetric radio morphology of the remnant after day 7000, when the forward shock left the eastern lobe of the equatorial ring.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

On the maximum energy of shock-accelerated cosmic rays at ultra-relativistic shocks

The maximum energy to which cosmic rays can be accelerated at weakly-magnetised ultra-relativistic shocks is investigated. We demonstrate that for such shocks, in which the scattering of energetic particles is mediated exclusively by ion skin-depth scale structures, as might be expected for a Weibel-mediated shock, there is an intrinsic limit on the maximum energy to which particles can be accelerated. This maximum energy is determined from the requirement that particles must be isotropised in the downstream plasma frame before the mean field transports them far downstream, and falls considerably short of what is required to produce ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. To circumvent this limit, a highly disorganised field is required on larger scales. The growth of cosmic-ray induced instabilities on wavelengths much longer than the ion-plasma skin depth, both upstream and downstream of the shock, is considered. While these instabilities may play an important role in magnetic field amplification at relativistic shocks, on scales comparable to the gyroradius of the most energetic particles, the calculated growth-rates have insufficient time to modify the scattering. Since strong modification is a necessary condition for particles in the downstream region to re-cross the shock, in the absence of an alternative scattering mechanism, these results imply that acceleration to higher energies is ruled out. If weakly-magnetised ultra-relativistic shocks are disfavoured as high energy particle accelerators in general, the search for potential sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays can be narrowed.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Giant Lobes of Centaurus A Radio Galaxy Observed with the Suzaku X-ray Satellite

[abridged] We report on Suzaku observations of selected regions within the Southern giant lobe of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. We focus on distinct X-ray features likely associated with fine radio structure of the lobe. We find that the spectral properties of the detected X-ray features are equally consistent with thermal emission from hot gas, or with a power-law radiation continuum. However, the plasma parameters implied by these different models favor a synchrotron origin for the analyzed X-ray spots, indicating that a very efficient acceleration of electrons is taking place within the giant structure of Centaurus A, albeit only in isolated and compact regions. We also present a detailed analysis of the diffuse X-ray emission, resulting in a tentative detection of a soft excess component best fitted by a thermal model with a temperature of 0.5 keV. The exact origin of the observed excess remains uncertain, although energetic considerations point to thermal gas filling the bulk of the volume of the lobe and mixed with the non-thermal plasma. The corresponding pressure of the thermal gas in such a case appears to be in almost exact equipartition with the pressure provided by the radio-emitting electrons and the magnetic field. Although tentative, our findings potentially imply that the structure of the extended lobes in active galaxies is likely to be highly inhomogeneous, with magnetic reconnection processes continuously converting magnetic energy to internal energy of the plasma particles, leading to spatial and temporal variations in the plasma parameters around the equilibrium condition.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Universal behaviour of shock precursors in the presence of efficient cosmic-ray acceleration

The self-consistent interaction between energetic particles and self-generated hydromagnetic waves in a cosmic-ray pressure dominated plasma is considered. Using a three-dimensional hybrid MHD-kinetic code, which utilises a spherical harmonic expansion of the Vlasov-Fokker-Planck equation, high resolution simulations of the magnetic field growth including feedback on the cosmic rays are carried out. It is found that for shocks with high cosmic-ray acceleration efficiency, the magnetic fields become highly disorganised, resulting in near isotropic diffusion, independent of the initial orientation of the ambient magnetic field. The possibility of sub-Bohm diffusion is demonstrated for parallel shocks, while the diffusion coefficient approaches the Bohm limit from below for oblique shocks. This universal behaviour suggests that Bohm diffusion in the root mean squared field inferred from observation may provide a realistic estimate for the maximum energy acceleration timescale in young supernova remnants. Although disordered, the magnetic field is not self-similar suggesting non-uniform energy dependent behaviour of the energetic particle transport in the precursor. Possible indirect radiative signatures of cosmic-ray driven magnetic field amplification are discussed.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Diffusive shock acceleration at laser driven shocks: studying cosmic-ray accelerators in the laboratory

The non-thermal particle spectra responsible for the emission from many astrophysical systems are thought to originate from shocks via a first order Fermi process otherwise known as diffusive shock acceleration. The same mechanism is also widely believed to be responsible for the production of high energy cosmic rays. With the growing interest in collisionless shock physics in laser produced plasmas, the possibility of reproducing and detecting shock acceleration in controlled laboratory experiments should be considered. The various experimental constraints that must be satisfied are reviewed. It is demonstrated that several currently operating laser facilities may fulfil the necessary criteria to confirm the occurrence of diffusive shock acceleration of electrons at laser produced shocks. Successful reproduction of Fermi acceleration in the laboratory could open a range of possibilities, providing insight into the complex plasma processes that occur near astrophysical sources of cosmic rays.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

A filamentation instability for streaming cosmic-rays

We demonstrate that cosmic rays form filamentary structures in the precursors of supernova remnant shocks due to their self-generated magnetic fields. The cosmic-ray filamentation results in the growth of a long wavelength instability, and naturally couples the rapid non-linear amplification on small scales to larger length scales. Hybrid magnetohydrodynamics--particle simulations are performed to confirm the effect. The resulting large scale magnetic field may facilitate the scattering of high energy cosmic rays as required to accelerate protons beyond the knee in the cosmic-ray spectrum at supernova remnant shocks. Filamentation far upstream of the shock may also assist in the escape of cosmic rays from the accelerator.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Cosmic ray acceleration at oblique shocks

We show that the diffusion approximation breaks down for particle acceleration at oblique shocks with velocities typical of young supernova remnants. Higher order anisotropies flatten the spectral index at quasi-parallel shocks and steepen the spectral index at quasi-perpendicular shocks. We compare the theory with observed spectral indices.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Stochastic particle acceleration in the lobes of giant radio galaxies

We investigate the acceleration of particles via the second-order Fermi process in the lobes of giant radio galaxies. Such sites are candidates for the accelerators of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We focus on the nearby FR I radio galaxy Centaurus A. This is motivated by the coincidence of its position with the arrival direction of several of the highest energy Auger events. The conditions necessary for consistency with the acceleration timescales predicted by quasi-linear theory are reviewed. Test particle calculations are performed in fields which guarantee electric fields with no component parallel to the local magnetic field. The results of quasilinear theory are, to order of magnitude, found to be accurate at low turbulence levels for non-relativistic Alfven waves and at both low and high turbulence levels in the mildly relativistic case. We conclude that for pure stochastic acceleration to be plausible as the generator of ultra-high energy cosmic rays in Centaurus A, the baryon number density would need to be several orders of magnitude below currently held upper-limits.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2008

Steady-State Solutions in Nonlinear Diffusive Shock Acceleration

Stationary solutions to the equations of non-linear diffusive shock acceleration play a fundamental role in the theory of cosmic-ray acceleration. Their existence usually requires that a fraction of the accelerated particles be allowed to escape from the system. Because the scattering mean-free-path is thought to be an increasing function of energy, this condition is conventionally implemented as an upper cut-off in energy space -- particles are then permitted to escape from any part of the system, once their energy exceeds this limit. However, because accelerated particles are responsible for substantial amplification of the ambient magnetic field in a region upstream of the shock front, we examine an alternative approach in which particles escape over a spatial boundary. We use a simple iterative scheme that constructs stationary numerical solutions to the coupled kinetic and hydrodynamic equations. For parameters appropriate for supernova remnants, we find stationary solutions with efficient acceleration when the escape boundary is placed at the point where growth and advection of strongly driven non-resonant waves are in balance. We also present the energy dependence of the distribution function close to the energy where it cuts off - a diagnostic that is in principle accessible to observation.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Environmental limits on the non-resonant cosmic-ray current-driven instability

We investigate the so-called non-resonant cosmic-ray streaming instability, first discussed by Bell (2004). The extent to which thermal damping and ion-neutral collisions reduce the growth of this instability is calculated. Limits on the growth of the non-resonant mode in SN1006 and RX J1713.7-3946 are presented.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

The transport of cosmic rays in self-excited magnetic turbulence

The process of diffusive shock acceleration relies on the efficacy with which hydromagnetic waves can scatter charged particles in the precursor of a shock. The growth of self-generated waves is driven by both resonant and non-resonant processes. We perform high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the non-resonant cosmic-ray driven instability, in which the unstable waves are excited beyond the linear regime. In a snapshot of the resultant field, particle transport simulations are carried out. The use of a static snapshot of the field is reasonable given that the Larmor period for particles is typically very short relative to the instability growth time. The diffusion rate is found to be close to, or below, the Bohm limit for a range of energies. This provides the first explicit demonstration that self-excited turbulence reduces the diffusion coefficient and has important implications for cosmic ray transport and acceleration in supernova remnants.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

A cosmic ray current driven instability in partially ionised media

We investigate the growth of hydromagnetic waves driven by streaming cosmic rays in the precursor environment of a supernova remnant shock. It is known that transverse waves propagating parallel to the mean magnetic field are unstable to anisotropies in the cosmic ray distribution, and may provide a mechanism to substantially amplify the ambient magnetic field. We quantify the extent to which temperature and ionisation fractions modify this picture. Using a kinetic description of the plasma we derive the dispersion relation for a collisionless thermal plasma with a streaming cosmic ray current. Fluid equations are then used to discuss the effects of neutral-ion collisions. We calculate the extent to which the environment into which the cosmic rays propagate influences the growth of the magnetic field, and determines the range of possible growth rates. If the cosmic ray acceleration is efficient, we find that very large neutral fractions are required to stabilise the growth of the non-resonant mode. For typical supernova parameters in our galaxy, thermal effects do not significantly alter the growth rates. For weakly driven modes, ion-neutral damping can dominate over the instability at more modest ionisation fractions. In the case of a supernova shock interacting with a molecular clouds, such as in RX J1713.7-3946, with high density and low ionisation, the modes can be rapidly damped.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

A current driven instability in parallel, relativistic shocks

Recently, Bell has reanalysed the problem of wave excitation by cosmic rays propagating in the pre-cursor region of a supernova remnant shock front. He pointed out a strong, non-resonant, current-driven instability that had been overlooked in the kinetic treatments, and suggested that it is responsible for substantial amplification of the ambient magnetic field. Magnetic field amplification is also an important issue in the problem of the formation and structure of relativistic shock fronts, particularly in relation to models of gamma-ray bursts. We have therefore generalised the linear analysis to apply to this case, assuming a relativistic background plasma and a monoenergetic, unidirectional incoming proton beam. We find essentially the same non-resonant instability noticed by Bell, and show that also under GRB conditions, it grows much faster than the resonant waves. We quantify the extent to which thermal effects in the background plasma limit the maximum growth rate.

astro-ph↗