Actions for Relativistic shock waves and the excitation of plerions [electronic resource].

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Relativistic shock waves and the excitation of plerions [electronic resource].

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 1991.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description
Pages: (15 pages) : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
The shock termination of a relativistic magnetohydrodynamic wind from a pulsar is the most interesting and viable model for the excitation of the synchrotron sources observed in plerionic supernova remnants. We have studied the structure of relativistic magnetosonic shock waves in plasmas composed purely of electrons and positrons, as well as those whose composition includes heavy ions as a minority constituent by number. We find that relativistic shocks in symmetric pair plasmas create fully thermalized distributions of particles and fields downstream. Therefore, such shocks are not good candidates for the mechanism which converts rotational energy lost from a pulsar into the nonthermal synchrotron emission observed in plerions. However, when the upstream wind contains heavy ions which are minority constituent by number density, but carry the bulk of the energy density, much of the energy of the shock goes into a downstream, nonthermal power law distribution of positrons with energy distribution N(E)dE {proportional to}E{sup −s}. In a specific model presented in some detail, s = 3. These characteristics are close to those assumed for the pairs in macroscopic MHD wind models of plerion excitation. The essential mechanism is collective synchrotron emission of left-handed extraordinary modes by the ions in the shock front at high harmonics of the ion cyclotron frequency, with the downstream positrons preferentially absorbing almost all of this radiation, mostly at their fundamental (relativistic) cyclotron frequencies. Possible applications to models of plerions and to constraints on theories of energy loss from pulsars are briefly outlines. 27 refs., 5 figs.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:ucrl-jc-105642
E 1.99: conf-9106119--1
conf-9106119--1
ucrl-jc-105642
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Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
01/07/1991.
"ucrl-jc-105642"
" conf-9106119--1"
"DE91007623"
IAU colloquium 128: the magnetospheric structure and emission mechanisms of radio pulsars', Logow (Poland), 18 Jun 1991.
Langdon, A.B.; Max, C.E. . Inst. of Geophysics and Plan; Arons, J.; Hoshino, Masahiro; Gallant, Y.A. . Dept. of Physics.
Funding Information
W-7405-ENG-48
View MARC record | catkey: 13827237