arXiv subjects

Ji-Hoon Ha

Publications and source records attributed to Ji-Hoon Ha.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Intrinsic Spectral Curvature from Finite-Cycle Transport at Relativistic Shocks

Power-law spectra are a central prediction of shock acceleration and are commonly associated with asymptotic scale invariance under diffusive transport. In finite relativistic shocks, strong anisotropy and limited residence times may restrict the number of effective shock crossings before the many-cycle diffusive limit is established. This work develops a reduced finite-cycle framework in which particle energization is described by discrete shock-crossing mappings, while downstream transport is encoded through an energy-dependent return probability. In this formulation, the local spectrum is controlled by the competition between the mean energy gain per cycle and the probability of surviving to the next cycle. A systematic decrease of the return probability with energy then produces intrinsic spectral curvature as a consequence of transport-limited cycle survival. The energy dependence of the return probability is estimated from the competition between magnetic deflection, downstream advection, and finite shock lifetime, yielding a characteristic steepening scale determined by macroscopic source parameters. For fiducial parameters relevant to compact blazar emission regions, the steepening scale lies below the ultimate acceleration cutoff, so that curvature can appear before the terminal maximum energy is reached. These results point to a pre-asymptotic finite-cycle limit of relativistic shock transport in which non-power-law spectra can arise from the limited survival of repeated shock-crossing cycles.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Flow-Regulated Suprathermal Particle Acceleration in Weakly Collisional Astrophysical Plasmas

We investigate the formation of suprathermal particle populations in weakly collisional plasmas using a one-dimensional Fokker-Planck framework. A key element of this work is the introduction of a systematic velocity-space drift term that represents net energization relative to a background streaming flow. This term provides a minimal phenomenological description of competing relaxation and acceleration processes, enabling the incorporation of large-scale plasma dynamics into kinetic particle evolution. The model further includes spatial advection, velocity-space diffusion associated with wave-particle interactions, and collisional relaxation. To explore the role of time-dependent large-scale plasma dynamics, we consider three representative temporal profiles of the streaming velocity: accelerating, decelerating, and steady flows. We find that velocity-space diffusion primarily governs the formation of suprathermal tails, while the streaming-induced drift regulates their efficiency and spectral properties. In particular, the overall fraction of suprathermal particles depends only weakly on the detailed temporal evolution of the flow and is largely controlled by the time-averaged streaming velocity. These results suggest that large-scale streaming motions can be incorporated as an effective systematic energization mechanism in weakly collisional plasmas, providing a minimal and flexible framework applicable to a broad range of space and astrophysical environments.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2026

Reconnection-Driven Injection and Stochastic Reacceleration during Cosmological Magnetogenesis

We investigate whether magnetic reconnection can provide suprathermal proton seed particles during cosmological magnetogenesis prior to nonlinear structure formation. Previous work showed that pressure-anisotropy-driven stochastic acceleration alone is strongly limited by cosmological expansion and Coulomb cooling. Here, we extend this framework by adding a phenomenological reconnection-driven source term to the Fokker--Planck equation for the isotropic ion distribution, with the injection power tied to the magnetic-energy growth rate during magnetogenesis. We find that reconnection can act as a fast injection channel and can produce a visible suprathermal tail. However, the resulting nonthermal energy fraction remains very small, of order $10^{-7}$ in the fiducial model, implying a negligible nonthermal pressure contribution to the pre-structure intergalactic medium. This limitation arises because the extremely high-beta plasma contains only a small magnetic-energy reservoir, even when reconnection itself is locally fast. Using a test-particle shock reacceleration estimate, we further show that the reconnection-produced tail can enhance the suprathermal proton population available for later structure-formation shocks by about an order of magnitude. Nevertheless, the associated hadronic gamma-ray emission from low-density cluster outskirts is expected to remain far below current detectability. We therefore conclude that reconnection during cosmological magnetogenesis is unlikely to dominate the cosmic-ray energy budget directly, but may provide a low-level seed population for subsequent shock acceleration.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Stochastic Particle Acceleration during Pressure-Anisotropy-Driven Magnetogenesis in the Pre-Structure Universe

We investigate whether stochastic acceleration associated with pressure-anisotropy-driven magnetogenesis can generate a dynamically significant population of cosmic rays (CRs) prior to nonlinear structure formation. As magnetic fields amplify in the early Universe, the associated increase in gyrofrequency enhances pitch-angle scattering, potentially shortening the stochastic acceleration time. We derive an analytic criterion for efficient cosmological acceleration by comparing the acceleration timescale with the Hubble time, which defines a critical magnetic field and a corresponding CR turn-on redshift $z_{\rm on}$. For representative parameters, we find $z_{\rm on}\sim1.7$. To quantify the resulting particle population, we solve a Fokker-Planck equation for the isotropic ion (proton) distribution in the redshift interval $z=10\rightarrow z_{\rm on}$, including Coulomb energy losses in a fully ionized intergalactic medium. Throughout most of this epoch, adiabatic expansion dominates over stochastic energization, and Coulomb cooling efficiently thermalizes low-energy particles, introducing an effective low-energy threshold at energies of order ${\mathcal O}(10)$ keV. As a result, the distribution remains close to a cooling Maxwellian, and the formation of a suprathermal tail is strongly suppressed even in the presence of a pre-existing nonthermal component. Even under optimistic assumptions corresponding to the strong-scattering limit, the maximum attainable ion energy reaches at most $\mathcal{O}(10^2)$ GeV. These results indicate that efficient CR production in the intergalactic medium is intrinsically tied to the onset of structure-formation shocks, while earlier microinstability-driven stochastic processes can provide at most a modest pre-acceleration.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

Ballistic Surfing Acceleration as a Coherent Mechanism for Electron Acceleration in Galaxy Cluster Shocks

Radio relics in merging galaxy clusters are widely interpreted as synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons accelerated at large-scale shocks. However, the efficiency of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) is expected to be suppressed in the low-Mach-number, weakly turbulent environments of cluster mergers; furthermore, recent theoretical insights suggest that DSA may not constitute a viable physical mechanism for such environments. In this work, we investigate ballistic surfing acceleration (BSA) as an electrodynamically grounded alternative for electron energization that bypasses the need for prescribed diffusion coefficients. We formulate BSA under typical cluster shock conditions, deriving the balance between coherent acceleration by the convective electric field and radiative losses from synchrotron and inverse-Compton cooling. This equilibrium defines the maximum reachable electron energy and constrains the resulting steady-state spectrum. By forward-modeling the associated synchrotron emission and comparing it with integrated radio observations of the `Sausage' (CIZA J2242.8+5301) and `Toothbrush' (1RXS J0603.3+4214) relics, we find that the observed spectral curvature and high-frequency steepening are consistent with BSA-limited energies, provided that active acceleration involves only a minute participation fraction ($10^{-9}$-$10^{-8}$) of the radiating electrons. Despite this high selectivity, BSA effectively produces Lorentz factors of $\gamma \sim 10^4$-$10^5$. Our results suggest that radio relics serve as prime astrophysical laboratories for probing coherent acceleration, with the BSA framework providing a robust and physically consistent explanation for electron energization in cluster shocks.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

AI-based separation of turbulence from coherent background flows in decaying hydrodynamic turbulence

Separating turbulent fluctuations from coherent large-scale background flows is a longstanding challenge in the analysis of numerical simulations and astronomical observations. Traditional approaches commonly rely on decomposition-based techniques such as Fourier or wavelet filtering, which assume that a meaningful separation can be achieved through scale selection. In realistic flows, however, coherent motions and turbulence often overlap across a broad range of scales and interact nonlinearly, making a unique separation inherently ambiguous. In this work, we investigate the robustness of an AI-based turbulence-background separation approach using two-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes simulations of decaying hydrodynamic turbulence. The simulations are initialized with a coherent background flow and divergence-free turbulent perturbations with a Kolmogorov-like spectrum and evolve without external forcing, providing a controlled physical testbed. A neural network trained exclusively on static synthetic images is applied to simulation snapshots at different evolutionary stages. The model recovers turbulent fluctuations during early and intermediate stages when partial scale separation is present. At later stages, where nonlinear interactions increasingly mix coherent and turbulent structures, the separation becomes less distinct; nevertheless, the recovered fields remain visually and spectrally consistent with the expected turbulent behavior. Quantitative comparisons with a Fourier filtering baseline show that the AI-based approach achieves comparable reconstruction accuracy while not requiring an explicit spectral cutoff scale. These results suggest that AI models trained on static data can provide a flexible diagnostic tool for turbulence-background separation in time-evolving flows, with potential applications to astrophysical datasets.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Electron Acceleration via Lower-Hybrid Drift Instability in Astrophysical Plasmas: Dependence on Plasma Beta and Suprathermal Electron Distributions

Density inhomogeneities are ubiquitous in space and astrophysical plasmas, particularly at magnetic reconnection sites, shock fronts, and within compressible turbulence. The gradients associated with these inhomogeneous plasma regions serve as free energy sources that can drive plasma instabilities, including the lower-hybrid drift instability (LHDI). Notably, lower-hybrid waves are frequently observed in magnetized space plasma environments, such as Earth's magnetotail and magnetopause. Previous studies have primarily focused on modeling particle acceleration via LHDI in these regions using a quasilinear approach. This study expands the investigation of LHDI to a broader range of environments, spanning weakly to strongly magnetized media, including interplanetary, interstellar, intergalactic, and intracluster plasmas. To explore the applicability of LHDI in various astrophysical settings, we employ two key parameters: (1) plasma magnetization, characterized by the plasma beta parameter, and (2) the spectral slope of suprathermal electrons following a power-law distribution. Using a quasilinear model, we determine the critical values of plasma beta and spectral slope that enable efficient electron acceleration via LHDI by comparing the rate of growth of instability and the damping rate of the resulting fluctuations. We further analyze the time evolution of the electron distribution function to confirm these critical conditions. Our results indicate that electron acceleration is generally most efficient in low-beta plasmas ($\beta < 1$). However, the presence of suprathermal electrons significantly enhances electron acceleration via LHDI, even in high-beta plasmas ($\beta > 1$). Finally, we discuss the astrophysical implications of our findings, highlighting the role of LHDI in electron acceleration across diverse plasma environments.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Resonant W and Z Boson Production in FSRQ Jets: Implications for Diffuse Neutrino Fluxes

Blazars, particularly Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs), are well-known for their ability to accelerate a substantial population of electrons and positrons, as inferred from multiwavelength radiation observations. Therefore, these astrophysical objects are promising candidates for studying high-energy electron--positron interactions, such as the production of $W^{\pm}$ and $Z$ bosons. In this work, we explore the implications of electron--positron annihilation processes in the jet environments of FSRQs, focusing on the resonant production of electroweak bosons and their potential contribution to the diffuse neutrino flux. By modeling the electron distribution in the jet of the FSRQ 3C~279 during a flaring state, we calculate the reaction rates for $W^{\pm}$ and $Z$ bosons and estimate the resulting diffuse fluxes from the cosmological population of FSRQs. We incorporate the FSRQ luminosity function and its redshift evolution to account for the population distribution across cosmic time, finding that the differential flux contribution exhibits a pronounced peak at redshift $z \sim 1$. While the expected fluxes remain well below the detection thresholds of current neutrino observatories such as IceCube, KM3NeT, or Baikal-GVD, the flux from $Z$ boson production within the jet blob is many orders of magnitude smaller than the total diffuse astrophysical neutrino flux. These results provide a theoretical benchmark for the role of Standard Model electroweak processes in extreme astrophysical environments, highlighting the interplay between particle physics and astrophysics, and illustrating that even extremely rare high-energy interactions can leave a subtle, theoretically meaningful imprint on the diffuse astrophysical neutrino background.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Cosmic Ray Acceleration and Nonthermal Radiation at Accretion Shocks in the Outer Regions of Galaxy Clusters

Cosmology models predict that external accretion shocks form in the outer region of galaxy clusters due to supersonic gas infall from filaments and voids in the cosmic web. They are characterized by high sonic and Alfvénic Mach numbers, $M_s\sim10-10^2$ and $M_A\sim10^2-10^3$, and propagate into weakly magnetized plasmas of $β\equiv P_g/P_B\gtrsim10^2$. Although strong accretion shocks are expected to be efficient accelerators of cosmic rays (CRs), nonthermal signatures of shock-accelerated CRs around clusters have not been confirmed, and detailed acceleration physics at such shocks has yet to be understood. In this study, we first establish through two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations that at strong high-$β$ shocks electrons can be pre-energized via stochastic Fermi acceleration owing to the ion-Weibel instability in the shock transition region, possibly followed by injection into diffusive shock acceleration. Hence, we propose that the models derived from conventional thermal leakage injection may be employed for the acceleration of electrons and ions at accretion shocks as well. Applying these analytic models to numerical shock zones identified in structure formation simulations, we estimate nonthermal radiation, such as synchrotron and inverse-Compton (IC) emission due to CR electrons, and $π^0$-decay $γ$-rays due to CR protons, around simulated clusters. Our models with the injection parameter, $Q\approx3.5-3.8$, predict synthetic synchrotron maps, which seem consistent with recent radio observations of the Coma cluster. However, the detection of nonthermal IC X-rays and $γ$-rays from accretion shocks would be quite challenging. We suggest that the proposed analytic models may be adopted as generic recipes for CR production at cosmological shocks.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Electron Preacceleration at Weak Quasi-perpendicular Intracluster Shocks: Effects of Preexisting Nonthermal Electrons

Radio relics in the outskirts of galaxy clusters imply the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) of electrons at merger-driven shocks with Mach number $M_{s}\lesssim3-4$ in the intracluster medium (ICM). Recent studies have suggested that electron preacceleration and injection, prerequisite steps for DSA, could occur at supercritical shocks with $M_{s}\gtrsim2.3$ in the ICM, thanks to the generation of multiscale waves by microinstabilities such as the Alfvén ion cyclotron (AIC) instability, the electron firehose instability (EFI), and the whistler instability (WI). On the other hand, some relics are observed to have subcritical shocks with $M_{s}\lesssim2.3$, leaving DSA at such weak shocks as an outstanding problem. Reacceleration of preexisting nonthermal electrons has been contemplated as one of possible solutions for that puzzle. To explore this idea, we perform Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulations for weak quasi-perpendicular shocks in high-$β$ ($β=P_{\rm gas}/P_{B}$) plasmas with power-law suprathermal electrons in addition to Maxwellian thermal electrons. We find that suprathermal electrons enhance the excitation of electron-scale waves via the EFI and WI. However, they do not affect the ion reflection and the ensuing generation of ion-scale waves via the AIC instability. The presence of ion-scale waves is the key for the preacceleration of electrons up to the injection momentum, thus the shock criticality condition for electron injection to DSA is preserved. Based on the results, we conclude that preexisting nonthermal electrons in the preshock region alone would not resolve the issue of electron preacceleration at subcritical ICM shocks.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Effects of Multi-scale Plasma Waves on Electron Preacceleration at Weak Quasi-perpendicular Intracluster Shocks

Radio relics associated with merging galaxy clusters indicate the acceleration of relativistic electrons in merger-driven shocks with low sonic Mach numbers ($M_{\rm s}\lesssim 3$) in the intracluster medium (ICM). Recent studies have suggested that electron injection to diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) could take place through the so-called Fermi-like acceleration in the shock foot of $β=P_{\rm gas}/P_{\rm B}\approx 20-100$ shocks and the stochastic shock drift acceleration (SSDA) in the shock transition of $β\approx 1-5$ shocks. Here we explore how the SSDA can facilitate electron preacceleration in weak quasi-perpendicular ($Q_{\perp}$) shocks in $β\approx 20-100$ plasmas by performing particle-in-cell simulations in the two-dimensional domain large enough to encompass ion-scale waves. We find that in supercritical shocks with $M_{\rm s}\gtrsim M_{\rm AIC}^*\sim 2.3$, multi-scale waves are excited by the ion and electron temperature anisotropies in the downstream of the shock ramp, and that through stochastic pitch-angle scattering off the induced waves, electrons are confined in the shock transition for an extended period. Gaining energy through the gradient-drift along the motional electric field, electrons could be preaccelerated all the way to injection to DSA at such ICM shocks. Our findings imply that the electron DSA process at weak ICM shocks could explain the origin of radio relics. However, a further investigation of electron acceleration at subcritical shocks with $M_{\rm s}< 2.3$ is called for, since the Mach numbers of some observed radio relic shocks derived from radio or X-ray observations are as low as $M_{\rm s}\sim 1.5$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Microinstabilities in the Transition Region of Weak Quasi-Perpendicular Intracluster Shocks

Microinstabilities play important roles in both entropy generation and particle acceleration in collisionless shocks. Recent studies have suggested that in the transition zone of quasi-perpendicular ($Q_{\perp}$) shocks in the high-beta ($β=P_{\rm gas}/P_{\rm B}$) intracluster medium (ICM), the ion temperature anisotropy due to the reflected-gyrating ions could trigger the Alfvén ion cyclotron (AIC) instability and the ion-mirror instability, while the electron temperature anisotropy induced by magnetic field compression could excite the whistler instability and the electron-mirror instability. Adopting the numerical estimates for ion and electron temperature anisotropies found in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of $Q_{\perp}$-shocks with sonic Mach numbers, $M_{\rm s}=2-3$, we carry out a linear stability analysis for these microinstabilities. The kinetic properties of the microinstabilities and the ensuing plasma waves on both ion and electron scales are described for wide ranges of parameters, including the dependence on $β$ and the ion-to-electron mass ratio. In addition, the nonlinear evolution of induced plasma waves are examined by performing 2D PIC simulations with periodic boundary conditions. We find that for $β\approx 20-100$, the AIC instability could induce ion-scale waves and generate shock surface ripples in supercritical shocks above the AIC critical Mach number, $M_{\rm AIC}^{*} \approx 2.3$. Also electron-scale waves are generated primarily by the whistler instability in these high-$β$ shocks. The resulting multi-scale waves from electron to ion scales are thought to be essential in electron injection to the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism in $Q_{\perp}$-shocks in the ICM.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Modeling of Cosmic-Ray Production and Transport and Estimation of Gamma-Ray and Neutrino Emissions in Starburst Galaxies

Starburst galaxies (SBGs) with copious massive stars and supernova (SN) explosions are the sites of active cosmic-ray production. Based on the predictions of nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration theory, we model the cosmic-ray proton (CRP) production by both pre-SN stellar winds (SWs) and supernova remnants (SNRs) from core-collapse SNe inside the starburst nucleus. Adopting different models for the transport of CRPs, we estimate the $γ$-ray and neutrino emissions due to $pp$ collisions from nearby SBGs such as M82, NGC253, and Arp220. We find that with the current $γ$-rays observations by Fermi-LAT, Veritas, and H.E.S.S., it would be difficult to constrain CRP production and transport models. Yet, the observations are better reproduced with (1) the combination of the single power-law (PL) momentum distribution for SNR-produced CRPs and the diffusion model in which the CRP diffusion is mediated by the strong Kolmogorov-type turbulence of $δB/B\sim1$, and (2) the combination of the double PL model for SNR-produced CRPs and the diffusion model in which the scattering of CRPs is controlled mostly by self-excited waves rather than the pre-existing turbulence. The contribution of SW-produced CRPs could be substantial in Arp220, where the star formation rate is higher and the slope of the initial mass function would be flatter. We suggest that M82 and NGC253 might be detectable as point sources of high-energy neutrinos in the upcoming KM3NET and IceCube-Gen2, when optimistic models are applied. Future observations of neutrinos as well as $γ$-rays would provide constraints for the production and diffusion of CRPs in SBGs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Gamma-ray and Neutrino Emissions due to Cosmic-Ray Protons Accelerated at Intracluster Shocks in Galaxy Clusters

We examine the cosmic-ray protons (CRp) accelerated at collisionless shocks in galaxy clusters using cosmological structure formation simulations. We find that in the intracluster medium (ICM) within the virial radius of simulated clusters, only $\sim7$\% of shock kinetic energy flux is dissipated by the shocks that are expected to accelerate CRp, that is, supercritical, quasi-parallel ($Q_\parallel$) shocks with sonic Mach number $M_s\ge2.25$. The rest is dissipated at subcritical shocks and quasi-perpendicular shocks, both of which may not accelerate CRp. Adopting the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) model recently presented in Ryu et al. (2019), we quantify the DSA of CRp in simulated clusters. The average fraction of the shock kinetic energy transferred to CRp via DSA is assessed at $\sim(1-2)\times10^{-4}$. We also examine the energization of CRp through reacceleration using a model based on the test-particle solution. Assuming that the ICM plasma passes through shocks three times on average through the history of the universe and that CRp are reaccelerated only at supercritical $Q_\parallel$-shocks, the CRp spectrum flattens by $\sim0.05-0.1$ in slope and the total amount of CRp energy increases by $\sim40-80$\% from reacceleration. We then estimate diffuse $γ$-ray and neutrino emissions, resulting from inelastic collisions between CRp and thermal protons. The predicted $γ$-ray emissions from simulated clusters lie mostly below the upper limits set by Fermi-LAT for observed clusters. The neutrino fluxes towards nearby clusters would be $\lesssim10^{-4}$ of the IceCube flux at $E_ν=1$ PeV and $\lesssim10^{-6}$ of the atmospheric neutrino flux in the energy range of $E_ν\leq1$ TeV.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Electron Firehose Instabilities in High-$β$ ICM shocks

The preacceleration of electrons through reflection and shock drift acceleration (SDA) is essential for the diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) of nonthermal electrons in collisionless shocks. Previous studies suggested that, in weak quasi-perpendicular ($Q_\perp$) shocks in the high-$β$ ($β=P_{\rm gas}/P_{\rm B}$) intracluster medium (ICM), the temperature anisotropy due to SDA-reflected electrons can drive the electron firehose instability, which excites oblique nonpropagating waves in the shock foot. In this paper, we investigate, through a linear analysis and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, the firehose instabilities driven by an electron temperature anisotropy (ETAFI) and also by a drifting electron beam (EBFI) in $β\sim100$ ICM plasmas. The EBFI should be more relevant in describing the self-excitation of upstream waves in $Q_\perp$-shocks, since backstreaming electrons in the shock foot behave more like an electron beam rather than an anisotropic bi-Maxwellian population. We find that the basic properties of the two instabilities, such as the growth rate, $γ$, and the wavenumber of fast-growing oblique modes are similar in the ICM environment, with one exception; while the waves excited by the ETAFI are nonpropagating ($ω_r=0$), those excited by the EBFI have a non-zero frequency ($ω_r\neq0$). However, the frequency is small with $ω_r<γ$. Thus, we conclude that the interpretation of previous studies for the nature of upstream waves based on the ETAFI remains valid in $Q_\perp$-shocks in the ICM.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

A Diffusive Shock Acceleration Model for Protons in Weak Quasi-parallel Intracluster Shocks

Low sonic Mach number shocks form in the intracluster medium (ICM) during the formation of the large-scale structure of the universe. Nonthermal cosmic-ray (CR) protons are expected to be accelerated via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) in those ICM shocks, although observational evidence for the $γ$-ray emission of hadronic origin from galaxy clusters has yet to be established. Considering the results obtained from recent plasma simulations, we improve the analytic test-particle DSA model for weak quasi-parallel ($Q_\parallel$) shocks, previously suggested by \citet{kang2010}. In the model CR spectrum, the transition from the postshock thermal to CR populations occurs at the injection momentum, $p_{\rm inj}$, above which protons can undergo the full DSA process. As the shock energy is transferred to CR protons, the postshock gas temperature should decrease accordingly and the subshock strength weakens due to the dynamical feed of the CR pressure to the shock structure. This results in the reduction of the injection fraction, although the postshock CR pressure approaches an asymptotic value when the CR spectrum extends to the relativistic regime. Our new DSA model self-consistently accounts for such behaviors and adopts better estimations for $p_{\rm inj}$. With our model DSA spectrum, the CR acceleration efficiency ranges $η\sim10^{-3}-0.01$ for supercritical, $Q_\parallel$-shocks with sonic Mach number $2.25\lesssim M_{\rm s}\lesssim5$ in the ICM. Based on \citet{ha2018b}, on the other hand, we argue that proton acceleration would be negligible in subcritical shocks with $M_{\rm s}<2.25$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Electron Preacceleration in Weak Quasi-perpendicular Shocks in High-beta Intracluster Medium

Giant radio relics in the outskirts of galaxy clusters are known to be lit up by the relativistic electrons produced via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) in shocks with low sonic Mach numbers, $M_{\rm s}\lesssim3$. The particle acceleration at these collisionless shocks critically depends on the kinetic plasma processes that govern the injection to DSA. Here, we study the preacceleration of suprathermal electrons in weak, quasi-perpendicular ($Q_\perp$) shocks in the hot, high-$β$ ($β= P_{\rm gas}/P_{\rm B}$) intracluster medium (ICM) through two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. \citet{guo2014a,guo2014b} showed that in high-$β$ $Q_\perp$-shocks, some of incoming electrons could be reflected upstream and gain energy via shock drift acceleration (SDA). The temperature anisotropy due to the SDA-energized electrons then induces the electron firehose instability (EFI), and oblique waves are generated, leading to a Fermi-like process and multiple cycles of SDA in the preshock region. We find that such electron preacceleration is effective only in shocks above a critical Mach number $M_{\rm ef}^*\approx2.3$. This means that in ICM plasmas, $Q_\perp$-shocks with $M_{\rm s}\lesssim2.3$ may not efficiently accelerate electrons. We also find that even in $Q_\perp$-shocks with $M_{\rm s}\gtrsim2.3$, electrons may not reach high enough energies to be injected to the full Fermi-I process of DSA, because long-wavelength waves are not developed via the EFI alone. Our results indicate that additional electron preaccelerations are required for DSA in ICM shocks, and the presence of fossil relativistic electrons in the shock upstream region may be necessary to explain observed radio relics.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

Proton Acceleration in Weak Quasi-parallel Intracluster Shocks: Injection and Early Acceleration

Collisionless shocks with low sonic Mach numbers, $M_{\rm s} \lesssim 4$, are expected to accelerate cosmic ray (CR) protons via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) in the intracluster medium (ICM). However, observational evidence for CR protons in the ICM has yet to be established. Performing particle-in-cell simulations, we study the injection of protons into DSA and the early development of a nonthermal particle population in weak shocks in high $β$ ($\approx 100$) plasmas. Reflection of incident protons, self-excitation of plasma waves via CR-driven instabilities, and multiple cycles of shock drift acceleration are essential to the early acceleration of CR protons in supercritical quasi-parallel shocks. We find that only in ICM shocks with $M_{\rm s} \gtrsim M_{\rm s}^*\approx 2.25$, a sufficient fraction of incoming protons are reflected by the overshoot in the shock electric potential and magnetic mirror at locally perpendicular magnetic fields, leading to efficient excitation of magnetic waves via CR streaming instabilities and the injection into the DSA process. Since a significant fraction of ICM shocks have $M_{\rm s} < M_{\rm s}^*$, CR proton acceleration in the ICM might be less efficient than previously expected. This may explain why the diffuse gamma-ray emission from galaxy clusters due to proton-proton collisions has not been detected so far.

astro-ph.HE↗