arXiv subjects

Jiro Shimoda

Publications and source records attributed to Jiro Shimoda.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Modeling the Accretion of High-Velocity Clouds from a Rotating Halo

High-Velocity Clouds (HVCs) are a major fuel reservoir for star formation in the Galactic disk. Determining their origin and kinematics is thus crucial for understanding Galactic evolution. In this paper, we employ simple test-particle simulations to model HVC kinematics, generating line-of-sight velocity maps and probability density functions (PDFs) for comparison with observational results. We find that models assuming low angular momentum and an initial scale of tens of kiloparsecs (kpc) successfully reproduce the observed kinematic trends for both blue-shifted and red-shifted components. This consistency may support the dominance of intermediate-halo dynamics (tens of kpc scale) in regulating Galactic evolution, consistent with HVC formation via thermal instability in metal-polluted gas in the halo. Furthermore, by considering the entire bulk mass involved in the continuous accretion process -- including diffuse or ionized components that often escape direct observation -- our theoretical estimates yield a total mass accretion rate of several solar masses per year. This indicates that HVC accretion has the potential to supply a sufficient amount of gas to the Galactic disk to sustain ongoing star formation over several Gyr. Our findings suggest that the Galactic baryon cycle and disk evolution are governed by dynamics within the intermediate halo, providing key kinematic constraints for future magnetohydrodynamical simulations that resolve spatial structures of high velocity clouds.

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arXiv2026

Cosmic-Ray Spectra and Metal Budget Regulated by the Galactic Wind

We study the advection effect of the Galactic wind on the local cosmic ray spectra. The spectral hardening from a few hundred GV and softening from a few TV are reproduced by a velocity profile with a maximum velocity of $\sim 700~\mbox{km}~ \mbox{s}^{-1}$ without introducing a break in the power-law dependence of the diffusion coefficient. Additionally, we find that a hard CR spectrum below $\sim$ TV with an index of $\sim 2$ at an altitude $\sim 3$-$5$ kpc from the Galactic disk. This hard spectrum is favorable for the gamma-ray spectrum of the Fermi bubbles. With the obtained CR fluxes, we discuss the matter circulation in our Galaxy with the wind. While the wind has an essential role in maintaining the metal abundance in the disk, the production rate of Beryllium, which originates from CR spallation, is so low that the ratio Be/O in the halo should be larger than that in the disk gas.

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arXiv2025

Linear Analyses of Thermal Instability in Stratified Medium

Thermal instability in the circum-galactic medium (CGM) can be responsible for the existence of cold clouds (e.g., high-velocity clouds) embedded in a hot diffuse medium (e.g., X-ray emitting gas). While many previous studies have analyzed thermal instability in uniform medium, the instability mechanism in gravitationally stratified medium like CGM has not been fully analyzed. This study investigates how gravity affects the behavior of thermal instability through linear perturbation analyses.We find that in stratified medium, thermal instability can drive over-stable modes, a behavior distinctly different from the monotonic growth of thermal instability in a uniformmedium. Furthermore, we find that the combination of buoyancy and thermal instability drives other two unstable modes. Applying our results to a simplified model of the CGM, we estimate the gas accretion rate from the CGM to the Galactic disk and the typical size of high-velocity cloud driven by thermal instability to be a few solar masses per year. This gas accretion rate is comparable to the observed star formation rate, and hence, the mass in the Galactic disk can be maintained. Our results provide a theoretical framework for understanding the formation of multi-phase gas, particularly in the CGM.

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arXiv2025

Interplay between Escaping Cosmic Rays and Interstellar Medium: Driving of Galactic Winds and Shaping the Local Proton Spectrum

We study the effects of escaping cosmic rays (CRs) on the interstellar medium (ISM) around their source with spherically symmetric CR-hydrodynamical simulations taking into account the evolution of the CR energy spectrum, radiative cooling, and thermal conduction. We show how the escaping CRs accelerate and heat the ISM depending on the CR diffusion coefficient. The CR heating effects are potentially responsible for the recent observations of the unexpected H$\alpha$ and [OIII]$\lambda5007$ lines in old supernova remnants. The implied gas outflow rate by CRs can be comparable to the Galactic star formation rate, compatible with the Galactic wind required for polluting the halo gas with metals. Assuming a locally suppressed CR diffusion and a few nearby CR sources in the Local Bubble, we also propose alternative interpretations for the Galactic CR proton spectrum around the Earth measured with CALET, AMS02, and Voyager 1.

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arXiv2025

On Acceleration of Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays in a Novel Scenario of Magnetar Transients

Transient phenomena in magnetars have been considered as possible acceleration sites of ultrahigh-energy cosmic-rays (CRs), whose energy reaches ~200 EeV, such as the Amaterasu particle. However, the process of CR acceleration and the trigger mechanism of magnetar transients remains unclear. A recently suggested scenario for the activity predicts that the magnetar's rotation axis suddenly flips due to the `Dzhanibekov effect,' resulting in a sudden rise of the Euler force. The material in the outer layer plastically flows due to the force and finally fractures in this scenario. We study the possibilities of ion acceleration along with this scenario. If the degenerate electrons burst open from the fractured region like a balloon burst, the pair plasma formation can be ignited inside the crust. We find that such pair plasma can emit photons similar to the observed bursts from magnetars. We also find that the electron stream at the beginning of the burst phenomenon possibly induces a strong electric field for a moment, resulting in the acceleration of ~1 ZeV ion within a timescale of ~1 ps. The nuclear spallation reactions limit this timescale, and therefore, high-energy CR `neutrons' from the parenteral nuclei become proper observational predictions of this scenario: their arrival time and direction will be correlated with the bursting photon emissions of the host magnetars. The nuclear spallation of ~ZeV nuclei is preferred to explain $\gtrsim$10 PeV neutrino events observed by IceCube and KM3Net.

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arXiv2024

Fermi and eROSITA Bubbles as Persistent Structures of the Milky Way

The Fermi and eROSITA bubbles, large diffuse structures in our Galaxy, can be the by-products of the steady star formation activity. To simultaneously explain the star formation history of the Milky Way and the metallicity of $\sim$ Z$_\odot$ at the Galactic disk, a steady Galactic wind driven by cosmic-rays is required. For tenuous gases with a density of $\lesssim$10$^{-3}$ cm$^{-3}$, the cosmic-ray heating dominates over radiative cooling, and the gas can maintain the virial temperature of $\sim$0.3 keV ideal for escape from the Galactic system as the wind. A part of the wind falls back onto the disk like a galactic fountain flow. We model the wind dynamics according to the Galactic evolution scenario and find that the scale height and surface brightness of the X-ray and the hadronic gamma-ray emissions from such fountain flow region can be consistent with the observed properties of the Fermi and eROSITA bubbles. This implies that the bubbles are persistent structures of the Milky Way existing over (at least) the last $\sim$1 Gyr, rather than evanescent structures formed by non-trivial, $\sim$10 Myr past Galactic Center transient activities.

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arXiv2024

The Dzhanibekov Effect as a Possible Source of Magnetar Activity

Magnetars, which are neutron stars with strong magnetic fields, exhibit occasional bursting activities. The shape of a magnetar is not perfectly spherical due to the Lorentz force exerted by its strong magnetic fields and is described as a triaxial body. We study the unstable free precession in a triaxial magnetar; one of the principal axes undergoes an upside-down flip. This flip is known as the Dzhanibekov effect. We find that during the flip, the Euler force can suddenly disturb the force balance on the surface layer of the magnetar, potentially leading to plastic flow of the layer. This, in turn, may trigger different forms of magnetar activity, such as the emission of the bursts and/or of gravitational waves.

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arXiv2024

Large-scale Magnetic Field Model of GRB Afterglow Polarization: Effects of Field Anisotropy, Off-axis Viewing Angle, and Ordered Field

The afterglows of gamma-ray bursts are non-thermal electron synchrotron emissions from relativistic shocks. The origin of strong magnetic field in the emission region remains elusive, and two field amplification mechanisms via the plasma kinetic and magnetohydrodynamic instabilities have been discussed. The polarimetric observations are a powerful probe to distinguish these two mechanisms. So far, most theoretical works have focused on the former mechanism and constructed afterglow polarization models with microscopic-scale turbulence whose coherence length is much smaller than the thickness of the blast wave. In this work, focusing on the latter mechanism, we utilize our semi-analytic model of the synchrotron polarization with large-scale turbulence whose coherence length is comparable to the thickness of the blast wave to investigate the effect of magnetic field anisotropy and the observer viewing angle. We find that the polarization in our large-scale turbulence model can exhibit both behaviors characteristic of the microscopic-scale turbulence model and those not seen in the microscopic-scale model. Then we find that the large-scale model could explain all the polarimetric observational data to date that seem to be forward shock emission. We also examine the effect of ordered-field component, and find that polarization degree and polarization angle constant in time are realized only when the energy density ratio of the ordered and fluctuated components is $\gtrsim 50$. In this case, however, the polarization degree is much higher than the observed values.

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arXiv2024

MHD Simulation in Galactic Center Region with Radiative Cooling and Heating

We investigate the role of magnetic field on the gas dynamics in a galactic bulge region by three dimensional simulations with radiative cooling and heating. While high-temperature corona with $T>10^6\ {\rm K}$ is formed in the halo regions, the temperature near the mid-plane is $\lesssim 10^4\ {\rm K}$ following the thermal equilibrium curve determined by the radiative cooling and heating. Although the thermal energy of the interstellar gas is lost by radiative cooling, the saturation level of the magnetic field strength does not significantly depend on the radiative cooling and heating. The magnetic field strength is amplified to $10\ {\rm μG}$ on average, and reaches several hundred ${\rm μG}$ locally. We find the formation of magnetically dominated regions at mid-latitudes in the case with the radiative cooling and heating, which is not seen in the case without radiative effect. The vertical thickness of the mid-latitude regions is $50-150\ {\rm pc}$ at the radial location of $0.4-0.8\ {\rm kpc}$ from the galactic center, which is comparable to the observed vertical distribution of neutral atomic gas. When we take the average of different components of energy density integrated over the galactic bulge region, the magnetic energy is comparable to the thermal energy. We conclude that the magnetic field plays a substantial role in controlling the dynamical and thermal properties of the galactic bulge region.

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arXiv2023

The History of The Milky Way: The Evolution of Star Formation, Cosmic Rays, Metallicity, and Stellar Dynamics over Cosmic Time

We study the long-term evolution of the Milky Way (MW) over cosmic time by modeling the star formation, cosmic rays, metallicity, stellar dynamics, outflows and inflows of the galactic system to obtain various insights into the galactic evolution. The mass accretion is modeled by the results of cosmological N-body simulations for the cold dark matter. We find that the star formation rate is about half the mass accretion rate of the disk, given the consistency between observed Galactic Diffuse X-ray Emissions (GDXEs) and possible conditions driving the Galactic wind. Our model simultaneously reproduces the quantities of star formation rate, cosmic rays, metals, and the rotation curve of the current MW. The most important predictions of the model are that there is an unidentified accretion flow with a possible number density of $\sim10^{-2}$ cm$^{-3}$ and the part of the GDXEs originates from a hot, diffuse plasma which is formed by consuming about 10 % of supernova explosion energy. The latter is the science case for future X-ray missions; XRISM, Athena, and so on. We also discuss further implications of our results for the planet formation and observations of externalgalaxies in terms of the multimessenger astronomy.

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arXiv2022

Synchrotron Polarization of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglow Shocks with Hydrodynamic-scale Turbulent Magnetic Field

Afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are emitted from expanding forward shocks, which are expected to have magnetic field much stronger than the interstellar field, although the origin of the field is a long-standing problem. Two field amplification mechanisms, plasma kinetic instabilities and magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, have been discussed so far. The coherence length scales of the fields amplified by these two processes are different by $7-10$ orders of magnitudes, and the polarimetric observations may distinguish them. We construct a semi-analytic model of the forward shock afterglow polarization under the assumption of hydrodynamic-scale turbulent magnetic field. We perform numerical calculations of synchrotron polarization for the isotropic turbulence and the zero viewing angle. We find that the polarization degrees are $ \sim1~\%$ when the field coherence length scale in the fluid comoving frame is of the order of the thickness of the shocked regions. This range of polarization degree is comparable to that of the observed late-phase optical afterglows. Our model also shows that the radio polarization degrees are comparable to the optical ones on average but can be higher than the optical ones at some time intervals. The polarization angles are shown to vary randomly and continuously. These polarimetric properties are clearly different from the case of plasma kinetic instability. Simultaneous polarimetric observations of GRB afterglows at the radio and optical bands have recently started, which will help us constrain the magnetic field amplification mechanism.

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arXiv2022

Simultaneous Radio and Optical Polarimetry of GRB 191221B Afterglow

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous transients in the universe and are utilized as probes of early stars, gravitational wave counterparts, and collisionless shock physics. In spite of studies on polarimetry of GRBs in individual wavelengths that characterized intriguing properties of prompt emission and afterglow, no coordinated multi-wavelength measurements have yet been performed. Here, we report the first coordinated simultaneous polarimetry in the optical and radio bands for the afterglow associated with the typical long GRB 191221B. Our observations successfully caught the radio emission, which is not affected by synchrotron self-absorption, and show that the emission is depolarized in the radio band compared to the optical one. Our simultaneous polarization angle measurement and temporal polarization monitoring indicate the existence of cool electrons that increase the estimate of jet kinetic energy by a factor of $>$ 4 for this GRB afterglow. Further coordinated multi-wavelength polarimetric campaigns would improve our understanding of the total jet energies and magnetic field configurations in the emission regions of various types of GRBs, which are required to comprehend the mass scales of their progenitor systems and the physics of collisionless shocks.

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arXiv2022

X-ray Line Diagnostics of Ion Temperature at Cosmic-Ray Accelerating Collisionless Shocks

A novel collisionless shock jump condition is suggested by modeling the entropy production at the shock transition region. We also calculate downstream developments of the atomic ionization balance and the ion temperature relaxation in supernova remnants (SNRs). The injection process and subsequent acceleration of cosmic-rays (CRs) in the SNR shocks are closely related to the formation process of the collisionless shocks. The formation of the shock is caused by wave-particle interactions. Since the wave-particle interactions result in energy exchanges between electromagnetic fields and charged particles, the randomization of particles associated with the shock transition may occur with the rate given by the scalar product of the electric field and current. We find that order-of-magnitude estimates of the randomization with reasonable strength of the electromagnetic fields in the SNR constrain the amount of the CR nuclei and ion temperatures. The constrained amount of the CR nuclei can be sufficient to explain the Galactic CRs. The ion temperature becomes significantly lower than in the case of no CRs. To distinguish the case without CRs, we perform synthetic observations of atomic line emissions from the downstream region of the SNR RCW~86. Future observations by {\it XRISM} and {\it Athena} can distinguish whether the SNR shock accelerates the CRs or not from the ion temperatures.

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arXiv2021

The Effects of Cosmic-Ray Diffusion and Radiative Cooling on the Galactic Wind from the Milky Way

The effects of cosmic-ray diffusion and radiative cooling on the structure of the Galactic wind are studied using a steady state approximation. It is known that realistic cooling processes suppress the wind from launching. The effects of cosmic-ray diffusion are also supposed to be unfavorable for launching the wind. Both of these effects have not been studied simultaneously in a steady-state approximation of the wind. We find 327,254 solutions of the steady-state Galactic wind and confirm that: the effect of cosmic-ray pressure depends on the Alfv{é}n Mach number, the mass flux carried by the wind does not depend on the cosmic-ray pressure directly (but depends on the thermal pressure), and the typical conditions found in the Galaxy may correspond to the wind solution that provides metal polluted matters at a height of $\sim300$~kpc from the disk.

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arXiv2021

Multi-Wave band Synchrotron Polarization of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

Multi-wave band synchrotron linear polarization of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows is studied under the assumption of an anisotropic turbulent magnetic field with a coherence length of the plasma skin-depth scale in the downstream of forward shocks. We find that for typical GRBs, in comparison to the optical polarization, the degree of radio polarization shows a similar temporal evolution but a significantly smaller peak value. This results from differences in observed intensity image shapes between the radio and optical bands. We also show that the degree of the polarization spectrum undergoes a gradual variation from the low- to the high-polarization regime above the intensity of the spectral peak frequency, and that the difference in polarization angles in the two regimes is zero or 90 degrees. Thus, simultaneous multi-wave band polarimetric observations of GRB afterglows would be a new determinative test of the plasma-scale magnetic field model. We also discuss theoretical implications from the recent detection of radio linear polarization in GRB 171205A with ALMA and other models of magnetic field configuration.

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arXiv2019

Diagnosing Cosmic Ray Modified Shocks with H α Polarimetry

A novel diagnostic of cosmic-ray modified shocks by polarimetry of H $α$ emissions is suggested. In a cosmic-ray modified shock, the pressure of cosmic rays is sufficiently high compared to the upstream ram pressure to force the background plasma to decelerate (measured in the shock rest frame). Simultaneously, a fraction of the hydrogen atoms co-existing in the upstream plasma collide with the decelerated protons and undergo charge-exchange reactions. As a result, hydrogen atoms with the same bulk velocity of the decelerated protons are generated. We show that when the shock is observed from edge-on, the H $α$ radiated by these upstream hydrogen atoms is linearly polarized with a sizable degree of a few per cent as a result of resonant scattering of Ly $β$. The polarization direction depends strongly on the velocity modification; the direction is parallel to the shock surface for the case of no modification, while the direction is parallel to the shock velocity for the case of a modified shock.

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arXiv2019

Radiative transfer of hydrogen lines from supernova remnant shock waves: contributions of 2s-state hydrogen atoms

Radiative transfer in hydrogen lines in supernova remnant (SNR) shock waves is studied taking into account the population of the hydrogen atom 2s-state. Measurements of Balmer line emission, especially of H~$α$, are often relied upon to derive physical conditions in the SNR shock. On the other hand, Lyman series photons, especially Ly~$β$, are mostly absorbed by upstream hydrogen atoms. As a result, atoms are excited to the 3p state, and then emit H~$α$ by the spontaneous transition from 3p to 2s. Thus, the nature of H~$α$ depends on how many Ly~$β$ photons are converted to H~$α$ photons. Moreover, the Balmer lines can be scattered by the 2s-state hydrogen atoms, which are excited not only by collisional excitation but also by the Lyman-Balmer conversion. It is shown for example that the H~$α$ photons are scattered if the shock propagates into an H~$_{\rm I}$ cloud with a density of $\sim30~{\rm cm^{-3}}$ and a size of $\sim 1$~pc. We find that the line profile of H~$α$ becomes asymmetric resulting from the difference between line centre frequencies among the transitions from 3s to 2p, from 3p to 2s and from 3d to 2p. We also find that the broad-to-narrow ratio of H~$α$, which is often used to estimate the ion-electron temperature equilibrium, varies at most $\simeq 10$ per cent depending on the ionization degree of the upstream medium because of incomplete conversion of Lyman lines to Balmer lines.

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arXiv2018

Discovery of Kolmogorov-like Magnetic Energy Spectrum in Tycho's Supernova Remnant by Two-point Correlations of Synchrotron Intensity

The spectral slope of the magnetic energy in supernova remnants (SNRs) can be obtained by analysis of spatial two-point correlation functions of synchrotron intensities. This method has been originally developed for the analysis of magnetic field structure in diffuse interstellar medium and applied when the geometry of the emission region is simple and known. In this paper, applying this correlation analysis to Tycho's SNR, for which the synchrotron emission region is known to be a spherical shell, we find that the magnetic energy spectrum shows the Kolmogorov-like scaling. Our results can be explained by turbulence developed downstream of the shock front via Richtmyer-Meshkov instability or an amplification of upstream magnetic field induced by cosmic rays. They could be discriminated by future observations with a sub arcsecond resolution such as Square Kilometer Array.

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