arXiv subjects

T. W. Jones

Publications and source records attributed to T. W. Jones.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Diffusive Shock Acceleration Simulations of Radio Relics

Recent radio observations have identified a class of structures, so-called radio relics, in clusters of galaxies. The radio emission from these sources is interpreted as synchrotron radiation from GeV electrons gyrating in microG-level magnetic fields. Radio relics, located mostly in the outskirts of clusters, seem to associate with shock waves, especially those developed during mergers. In fact, they seem to be good structures to identify and probe such shocks in intracluster media (ICMs), provided we understand the electron acceleration and re-acceleration at those shocks. In this paper, we describe time-dependent simulations for diffusive shock acceleration at weak shocks that are expected to be found in ICMs. Freshly injected as well as pre-existing populations of cosmic-ray (CR) electrons are considered, and energy losses via synchrotron and inverse Compton are included. We then compare the synchrotron flux and spectral distributions estimated from the simulations with those in two well-observed radio relics in CIZA J2242.8+5301 and ZwCl0008.8+5215. Considering that the CR electron injection is rather inefficient at weak shocks with Mach number M <~ a few, the existence of radio relics could indicate the pre-existing population of low-energy CR electrons in ICMs. The implication of our results on the merger shock scenario of radio relics is discussed.

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arXiv2011

MHD Turbulence Simulation in a Cosmic Structure Context

The gaseous media of galaxy clusters and cosmic filaments, which constitute most of the baryonic matter in the universe, is highly dynamic. It is also probably turbulent, although the turbulence properties are poorly known. The gas is highly rarefied, essentially fully ionized plasma. Observational evidence suggests intracluster media (ICMs) are magnetized at some level. There are several possible origins for ICM seed fields; the observed fields are likely the result of turbulence in the ICM. We are engaged in a simulation study designed to understand in this context how very weak initial magnetic fields evolve in driven turbulence. We find that the magnetic fields eventually evolve towards equipartition levels with the vortical, solenoidal kinetic energy in the turbulence. As they do so the topology of the field structures transition from filamentary forms into ribbon-like structures in which the field orientations are laminated with vorticity structures.

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arXiv2011

Nonthermal Radiation from Type Ia Supernova Remnants

We present calculations of expected continuum emissions from Sedov-Taylor phase Type Ia supernova remnants (SNRs), using the energy spectra of cosmic ray (CR) electrons and protons from nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) simulations. A new, general-purpose radiative process code, Cosmicp, was employed to calculate the radiation expected from CR electrons and protons and their secondary products. These radio, X-ray and gamma-ray emissions are generally consistent with current observations of Type Ia SNRs. The emissions from electrons in these models dominate the radio through X-ray bands. Decays of π^0 s from p-p collisions mostly dominate the gamma-ray range, although for a hot, low density ISM case (n_{ISM}=0.003 cm^{-3}), the pion decay contribution is reduced sufficiently to reveal the inverse Compton contribution to TeV gamma-rays. In addition, we present simple scalings for the contributing emission processes to allow a crude exploration of model parameter space, enabling these results to be used more broadly. We also discuss the radial surface brightness profiles expected for these model SNRs in the X-ray and gamma-ray bands.

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arXiv2011

Synthetic Observations of Simulated AGN Jets: X-ray Cavities

Observations of X-ray cavities formed by powerful jets from AGN in galaxy cluster cores are widely used to estimate the energy output of the AGN. Using methods commonly applied to observations of clusters, we conduct synthetic X-ray observations of 3D MHD simulated jet-ICM interactions to test the reliability of measuring X-ray cavity power. These measurements are derived from empirical estimates of the enthalpy content of the cavities and their implicit ages. We explore how such physical factors as jet intermittency and observational conditions such as orientation of the jets with respect to the line of sight impact the reliability of observational measurements of cavity enthalpy and age. An estimate of the errors in these quantities can be made by directly comparing "observationally" derived values with "actual" values from the simulations. In our tests, cavity enthalpy derived from observations was typically within a factor of two of the simulation values. Cavity age and, therefore, cavity power are sensitive to the accuracy of the estimated inclination angle of the jets. Cavity age and power estimates within a factor of two of the actual values are possible given an accurate inclination angle.

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arXiv2011

Cluster Turbulence: Simulation Insights

Cluster media are dynamical, not static; observational evidence suggests they are turbulent. High-resolution simulations of the intracluster media (ICMs) and of idealized, similar media help us understand the complex physics and astrophysics involved. We present a brief overview of the physics behind ICM turbulence and outline the processes that control its development. High-resolution, compressible, isothermal MHD simulations are used to illustrate important dynamical properties of turbulence that develops in media with initially very weak magnetic fields. The simulations follow the growth of magnetic fields and reproduce the characteristics of turbulence. These results are also compared with full cluster simulations that have examined the properties of ICM turbulence.

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arXiv2010

Comparison of Different Methods for Nonlinear Diffusive Shock Acceleration

We provide a both qualitative and quantitative comparison among different approaches aimed to solve the problem of non-linear diffusive acceleration of particles at shocks. In particular, we show that state-of-the-art models (numerical, Monte Carlo and semi-analytical), even if based on different physical assumptions and implementations, for typical environmental parameters lead to very consistent results in terms of shock hydrodynamics, cosmic ray spectrum and also escaping flux spectrum and anisotropy. Strong points and limits of each approach are also discussed, as a function of the problem one wants to study.

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arXiv2010

Three-Dimensional Simulations of Bi-Directed Magnetohydrodynamic Jets Interacting with Cluster Environments

We report on a series of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations of active galactic nucleus (AGN) jet propagation in realistic models of magnetized galaxy clusters. We are primarily interested in the details of energy transfer between jets and the intracluster medium (ICM) to help clarify what role such flows could have in the reheating of cluster cores. Our simulated jets feature a range of intermittency behaviors, including intermittent jets that periodically switch on and off and one model jet that shuts down completely, naturally creating a relic plume. The ICM into which these jets propagate incorporates tangled magnetic field geometries and density substructure designed to mimic some likely features of real galaxy clusters. We find that our jets are characteristically at least 60% efficient at transferring thermal energy to the ICM. Irreversible heat energy is not uniformly distributed, however, instead residing preferentially in regions very near the jet/cocoon boundaries. While intermittency affects the details of how, when, and where this energy is deposited, all of our models generically fail to heat the cluster cores uniformly. Both the detailed density structure and nominally weak magnetic fields in the ICM play interesting roles in perturbing the flows, particularly when the jets are non-steady. Still, this perturbation is never sufficient to isotropize the jet energy deposition, suggesting that some other ingredient is required for AGN jets to successfully reheat cluster cores.

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arXiv2009

Turbulence-induced magnetic fields and the structure of Cosmic Ray modified shocks

We propose a model for Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA) in which stochastic magnetic fields in the shock precursor are generated through purely fluid mechanisms of a so-called small-scale dynamo. This contrasts with previous DSA models that considered magnetic fields amplified through cosmic ray streaming instabilities; i.e., either by way of individual particles resonant scattering in the magnetic fields, or by macroscopic electric currents associated with large-scale cosmic ray streaming. Instead, in our picture, the solenoidal velocity perturbations that are required for the dynamo to work are produced through the interactions of the pressure gradient of the cosmic ray precursor and density perturbations in the inflowing fluid. Our estimates show that this mechanism provides fast growth of magnetic field and is very generic. We argue that for supernovae shocks the mechanism is capable of generating upstream magnetic fields that are sufficiently strong for accelerating cosmic rays up to around 10^16 eV. No action of any other mechanism is necessary.

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arXiv2009

Clusters and Large-Scale Structure: the Synchrotron Keys

For over four decades, synchrotron-radiating sources have played a series of pathfinding roles in the study of galaxy clusters and large scale structure. Such sources are uniquely sensitive to the turbulence and shock structures of large-scale environments, and their cosmic rays and magnetic fields often play important dynamic and thermodynamic roles. They provide essential complements to studies at other wavebands. Over the next decade, they will fill essential gaps in both cluster astrophysics and the cosmological growth of structure in the universe, especially where the signatures of shocks and turbulence, or even the underlying thermal plasma itself, are otherwise undetectable. Simultaneously, synchrotron studies offer a unique tool for exploring the fundamental question of the origins of cosmic magnetic fields. This work will be based on the new generation of m/cm-wave radio telescopes now in construction, as well as major advances in the sophistication of 3-D MHD simulations.

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arXiv2009

Self-Similar Evolution of Cosmic-Ray Modified Shocks: The Cosmic-Ray Spectrum

We use kinetic simulations of diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) to study the time-dependent evolution of plane, quasi-parallel, cosmic-ray (CR) modified shocks. Thermal leakage injection of low energy CRs and finite Alfvén wave propagation and dissipation are included. Bohm diffusion as well as the diffusion with the power-law momentum dependence are modeled. As long as the acceleration time scale to relativistic energies is much shorter than the dynamical evolution time scale of the shocks, the precursor and subshock transition approach the time-asymptotic state, which depends on the shock sonic and Alfvénic Mach numbers and the CR injection efficiency. For the diffusion models we employ, the shock precursor structure evolves in an approximately self-similar fashion, depending only on the similarity variable, x/(u_s t). During this self-similar stage, the CR distribution at the subshock maintains a characteristic form as it evolves: the sum of two power-laws with the slopes determined by the subshock and total compression ratios with an exponential cutoff at the highest accelerated momentum, p_{max}(t). Based on the results of the DSA simulations spanning a range of Mach numbers, we suggest functional forms for the shock structure parameters, from which the aforementioned form of CR spectrum can be constructed. These analytic forms may represent approximate solutions to the DSA problem for astrophysical shocks during the self-similar evolutionary stage as well as during the steady-state stage if p_{max} is fixed.

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arXiv2009

Three-dimensional Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Buoyant Bubbles in Galaxy Clusters

We report results of 3D MHD simulations of the dynamics of buoyant bubbles in magnetized galaxy cluster media. The simulations are three dimensional extensions of two dimensional calculations reported by Jones & De Young (2005). Initially spherical bubbles and briefly inflated spherical bubbles all with radii a few times smaller than the intracluster medium (ICM) scale height were followed as they rose through several ICM scale heights. Such bubbles quickly evolve into a toroidal form that, in the absence of magnetic influences, is stable against fragmentation in our simulations. This ring formation results from (commonly used) initial conditions that cause ICM material below the bubbles to drive upwards through the bubble, creating a vortex ring; that is, hydrostatic bubbles develop into "smoke rings", if they are initially not very much smaller or very much larger than the ICM scale height. Even modest ICM magnetic fields with beta = P_gas/P_mag ~ 10^3 can influence the dynamics of the bubbles, provided the fields are not tangled on scales comparable to or smaller than the size of the bubbles. Quasi-uniform, horizontal fields with initial beta ~ 10^2 bifurcated our bubbles before they rose more than about a scale height of the ICM, and substantially weaker fields produced clear distortions. On the other hand, tangled magnetic fields with similar, modest strengths are generally less easily amplified by the bubble motions and are thus less influential in bubble evolution. Inclusion of a comparably strong, tangled magnetic field inside the initial bubbles had little effect on our bubble evolution, since those fields were quickly diminished through expansion of the bubble and reconnection of the initial field.

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arXiv2007

The Role of MHD in the ICM and its Interactions with AGN Outflows

Magnetic fields probably play a central role in the dynamics and thermodynamics of ICMs and their interactions with AGNs, despite the fact that the fields usually contribute relatively little pressure; i.e., the ICM is a ``high-$β$'' plasma. More typically, the roles of magnetic fields come through ``microscopic'' influences on charged particle behaviors, and through magnetic tension, which can still be significant in subsonic, high-$β$ flows. I briefly review these issues, while exploring the underlying question of using the commonly-applied magnetohydrodynamics model in the ICM when Coulomb scattering mean free paths can sometimes exceed tens of kiloparsecs.

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arXiv2007

Time Evolution of Cosmic Ray MHD Shocks and Their Emissions

We present results of time evolution of oblique MHD plane shocks including diffusive cosmic ray acceleration with backreaction on the plasma flows. The simulations include self-consistent effects of finite Alfven wave propagation and dissipation. From the computed cosmic ray particle phase space distributions we calculate expected leptonic and hadronic emissions resulting from interactions between the cosmic rays, magnetic fields, the thermal particle population and relevant astrophysical photon fields.

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arXiv2007

Self-Similar Evolution of Cosmic-Ray-Modified Quasi-Parallel Plane Shocks

Using an improved version of the previously introduced CRASH (Cosmic Ray Acceleration SHock) code, we have calculated the time evolution of cosmic-ray (CR) modified quasi-parallel plane shocks for Bohm-like diffusion, including self-consistent models of Alfven wave drift and dissipation, along with thermal leakage injection of CRs. The new simulations follow evolution of the CR distribution to much higher energies than our previous study, providing a better examination of evolutionary and asymptotic behaviors. The postshock CR pressure becomes constant after quick initial adjustment, since the evolution of the CR partial pressure expressed in terms of a momentum similarity variable is self-similar. The shock precursor, which scales as the diffusion length of the highest energy CRs, subsequently broadens approximately linearly with time, independent of diffusion model, so long as CRs continue to be accelerated to ever-higher energies. This means the nonlinear shock structure can be described approximately in terms of the similarity variable, x/(u_s t), where u_s is the shock speed once the postshock pressure reaches an approximate time asymptotic state. As before, the shock Mach number is the key parameter determining the evolution and the CR acceleration efficiency, although finite Alfven wave drift and wave energy dissipation in the shock precursor reduce the effective velocity change experienced by CRs, so reduce acceleration efficiency noticeably, thus, providing a second important parameter at low and moderate Mach numbers.

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arXiv2006

Numerical Studies of Diffusive Shock Acceleration at Spherical Shocks

We have developed a cosmic ray (CR) shock code in one dimensional spherical geometry with which the particle distribution, the gas flow and their nonlinear interaction can be followed numerically in a frame comoving with an expanding shock. In order to accommodate a very wide dynamic range of diffusion length scales in the CR shock problem, we have incorporated subzone shock tracking and adaptive mesh refinement techniques. We find the spatial grid resolution required for numerical convergence is less stringent in this code compared to typical, fixed-grid Eulerian codes. The improved convergence behavior derives from maintaining the shock discontinuity inside the same grid zone in the comoving code. That feature improves numerical estimates of the compression rate experienced by CRs crossing the subshock compared to codes that allow the subshock to drift on the grid. Using this code with a Bohm-like diffusion model we have calculated the CR acceleration and the nonlinear feedback at supernova remnant shocks during the Sedov-Taylor stage. Similarly to plane-parallel shocks, with an adopted thermal leakage injection model, about 10^{-3} of the particles that pass through the shock and up to 60 % of the explosion energy are transferred to the CR component. These results are in good agreement with previous nonlinear spherical CR shock calculations of Berezhko and collaborators.

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arXiv2005

3D Simulations of MHD Jet Propagation Through Uniform and Stratified External Environments

We present a set of high-resolution 3D MHD simulations of steady light, supersonic jets, exploring the influence of jet Mach number and the ambient medium on jet propagation and energy deposition over long distances. The results are compared to simple self-similar scaling relations for the morphological evolution of jet-driven structures and to previously published 2D simulations. For this study we simulated the propagation of light jets with internal Mach numbers 3 and 12 to lengths exceeding 100 initial jet radii in both uniform and stratified atmospheres. The propagating jets asymptotically deposit approximately half of their energy flux as thermal energy in the ambient atmosphere, almost independent of jet Mach number or the external density gradient. Nearly one-quarter of the jet total energy flux goes directly into dissipative heating of the ICM, supporting arguments for effective feedback from AGNs to cluster media. The remaining energy resides primarily in the jet and cocoon structures. Despite having different shock distributions and magnetic field features, global trends in energy flow are similar among the different models. As expected the jets advance more rapidly through stratified atmospheres than uniform environments. The asymptotic head velocity in King-type atmospheres shows little or no deceleration. This contrasts with jets in uniform media with heads that are slowed as they propagate. This suggests that the energy deposited by jets of a given length and power depends strongly on the structure of the ambient medium. While our low-Mach jets are more easily disrupted, their cocoons obey evolutionary scaling relations similar to the high-Mach jets.

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arXiv2005

An Efficient Numerical Scheme for Simulating Particle Acceleration in Evolving Cosmic-Ray Modified Shocks

We have developed a new, very efficient numerical scheme to solve the CR diffusion convection equation that can be applied to the study of the nonlinear time evolution of CR modified shocks for arbitrary spatial diffusion properties. The efficiency of the scheme derives from its use of coarse-grained finite momentum volumes. This approach has enabled us, using $\sim 10 - 20$ momentum bins spanning nine orders of magnitude in momentum, to carry out simulations that agree well with results from simulations of modified shocks carried out with our conventional finite difference scheme requiring more than an order of magnitude more momentum points. The coarse-grained, CGMV scheme reduces execution times by a factor approximately half the ratio of momentum bins used in the two methods. Depending on the momentum dependence of the diffusion, additional economies in required spatial and time resolution can be utilized in the CGMV scheme, as well. These allow a computational speed-up of at least an order of magnitude in some cases.

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arXiv2005

MHD Simulations of Relic Radio Bubbles in Clusters

In order to better understand the origin and evolution of relic radio bubbles in clusters of galaxies, we report on an extensive set of 2D MHD simulations of hot buoyant bubbles evolving in a realistic intracluster medium. Our bubbles are inflated near the base of the ICM over a finite time interval from a region whose magnetic field is isolated from the ICM. We confirm both the early conjecture from linear analysis and the later results based on preformed MHD bubbles; namely, that very modest ICM magnetic fields can stabilize the rising bubbles against disruption by Rayleigh-Taylor and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities. We find in addition that amplification of the ambient fields as they stretch around the bubbles can be sufficient to protect the bubbles or their initial fragments even if the fields are initially much too weak to play a significant role early in the evolution of the bubbles. Indeed, even with initial fields less than a micro-Gauss and values of $β= P_g/P_b$ approaching $10^5$, magnetic stresses in our simulations eventually became large enough to influence the bubble evolution. Magnetic field influence also depends significantly on the geometry of the ICM field and on the topology of the field at the bubble/ICM interface. For example, reconnection of anti-parallel fields across the bubble top greatly reduced the ability of the magnetic field to inhibit disruptive instabilities. Our results confirm earlier estimates of $10^8$ yr for relic radio bubble lifetimes and show that magnetic fields can account for the long term stability of these objects against disruption by surface instabilities. In addition these calculations show that lifting and mixing of the ambient ICM may be a critical function of field geometries in both the ICM and in the bubble interior.

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