arXiv subjects

Marco Kuhlen

Publications and source records attributed to Marco Kuhlen.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Diffusion of relativistic charged particles and field lines in isotropic turbulence: II. Analytical models

The transport of high-energy particles in the presence of small-scale, turbulent magnetic fields is a long-standing issue in astrophysics. Analytical theories on transport perpendicular to the large-scale magnetic field disagree with numerical simulations at rigidities where the particles' gyroradii are slightly smaller than the correlation length of turbulence. At the same time, extending the numerical simulations to lower rigidities has proven computationally prohibitive. We present an analytical model for the perpendicular transport, based on (1) initial particle transport along field lines, (2) the transport of field lines and (3) the eventual decorrelation of particles from field lines. Transport parallel to the large-scale field is governed by pitch-angle scattering and so for times larger than the inverse pitch-angle diffusion coefficient, particles spatially diffuse in the parallel direction. Our results suggest that perpendicular diffusion occurs when particles have displaced in the perpendicular direction by a few correlation lengths of turbulence. We have tested the analytical theory by running a large suite of test particle simulations at unprecedentedly low rigidities, making extensive use of graphical processing units (GPUs). Our numerical results exhibit a non-standard rigidity-dependence for the perpendicular diffusion coefficient at intermediate rigidities. At the lowest rigidities, the standard rigidity-dependence is recovered. The simulated diffusion coefficients are nicely reproduced by our analytical model. We have traced the non-standard rigidity-dependence to a subdiffusive phase in the field line transport. Our study confirms our understanding of the escape of cosmic rays from the Galactic halo and its rigidity-dependence. [abridged]

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Diffusion of relativistic charged particles and field lines in isotropic turbulence: I. Numerical simulations

The transport of non-thermal particles across a large-scale magnetic field in the presence of magnetised turbulence has been a long-standing issue in high-energy astrophysics. Of particular interest is the dependence of the parallel and perpendicular mean free paths $\lambda_{\parallel}$ and $\lambda_{\perp}$ on rigidity $\mathcal{R}$. We have revisited this important issue with a view to applications from the transport of Galactic cosmic rays to acceleration at astrophysical shocks. We have run test particle simulations of cosmic ray transport in synthetic, isotropic Kolmogorov turbulence at unprecedentedly low reduced rigidities $\rg/\Lc \simeq 10^{-4}$, corresponding to $\mathcal{R} \simeq 10 \, \text{TV}$ for a turbulent magnetic field of $\Brms = 4 \, \mu\text{G}$ and correlation length $\Lc = 30 \, \text{pc}$. Extracting the (asymptotic) parallel and perpendicular mean free paths $\lambda_{\parallel}$ and $\lambda_{\perp}$, we have found $\lambda_{\parallel} \propto (\rg/\Lc)^{1/3}$ as expected for a Kolmogorov turbulence spectrum. In contrast, $\lambda_{\perp}$ has a faster dependence on $\rg/\Lc$ for $10^{-2} \lesssim \rg/\Lc \lesssim 1$, but for $\rg/\Lc \ll 10^{-2}$, also $\lambda_{\perp} \propto (\rg/\Lc)^{1/3}$. Our results have important implications for the transport of Galactic cosmic rays.

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arXiv2021

No longer ballistic, not yet diffusive--the formation of cosmic ray small-scale anisotropies

The arrival directions of TeV-PeV cosmic rays are remarkably uniform due to the isotropization of their directions by scattering on turbulent magnetic fields. Small anisotropies can exist in standard diffusion models, however, only on the largest angular scales. Yet, high-statistics observatories like IceCube and HAWC have found significant deviations from isotropy down to small angular scales. Here, we explain the formation of small-scale anisotropies by considering pairs of cosmic rays that get correlated by their transport through the same realisation of the turbulent magnetic field. We argue that the formation of small-scale anisotropies is the reflection of the particular realisation of the turbulent magnetic field experienced by cosmic rays on time scales intermediate between the early, ballistic regime and the late, diffusive regime. We approach this problem in two different ways: First, we run test particle simulations in synthetic turbulence, covering for the first time the TV rigidities of observations with realistic turbulence parameters. Second, we extend the recently introduced mixing matrix approach and determine the steady-state angular power spectrum. Throughout, we adopt magneto-static, slab-like turbulence. We find excellent agreement between the predicted angular power spectra in both approaches over a large range of rigidities. In the future, measurements of small-scale anisotropies will be valuable in constraining the nature of the turbulent magnetic field in our Galactic neighborhood.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Cosmic Ray Small Scale Anisotropies in Slab Turbulence

In the standard picture of cosmic ray transport the propagation of charged cosmic rays through turbulent magnetic fields is described as a random walk with cosmic rays scattering on magnetic field turbulence. This is in good agreement with the highly isotropic cosmic ray arrival directions as this diffusion process effectively isotropizes the cosmic ray distribution. High-statistics observatories like IceCube and HAWC have however observed significant deviations from isotropy down to very small angular scales. This is in strong tension with this standard picture of cosmic ray propagation. While large scale multipoles arise naturally, for example due to the earth's motion relative to the isotropic cosmic ray distribution, there is no intuitive mechanism to account for the observed anisotropies at smaller angular scales. By relaxing one of the standard assumptions of quasi linear theory and treating correlations between fluxes of cosmic rays from different directions explicitly we show that higher multipoles also are to be expected from particle propagation through turbulent magnetic fields. We present a first analytical calculation of the angular power spectrum assuming a physically motivated model of the magnetic field turbulence and find good agreement with numerical simulations.

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arXiv2019

Time-dependent AMS-02 electron-positron fluxes in an extended force-field model

The magnetised solar wind modulates the Galactic cosmic ray flux in the heliosphere up to rigidities as high as 40 GeV. In this work, we present a new and straightforward extension of the popular, but limited force-field model, thus providing a fast and robust method for phenomenological studies of Galactic cosmic rays. Our semi-analytical approach takes into account charge-sign dependent modulation due to drifts in the heliospheric magnetic field and has been validated via comparison to a fully numerical code. Our model nicely reproduces the time-dependent AMS-02 measurements and we find the strength of diffusion and drifts to be strongly correlated with the heliospheric tilt angle and magnitude of the magnetic field. We are able to predict the electron and positron fluxes beyond the range for which measurements by AMS-02 have been presented. We have made an example script for the semi-analytical model publicly available and we urge the community to adopt this approach for phenomenological studies.

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