Search for: All records

Abstract The guiding center formalism is employed to analyze the motion of a charged relativistic particle in an inhomogeneous magnetic field subject to magnetic mirroring and energy loss due to cooling. The governing equation for the evolution of the magnetic moment is derived. An example representing a neutron star's (pulsar or magnetar) magnetosphere is presented to illustrate typical particle orbits. Notably, radiative losses are most pronounced near a trapped particle’s turning point. Depending on the initial particle’s pitch angle, energy loss can become catastrophic, resulting in the rapid migration of the particle into the loss cone and subsequent precipitation onto a neutron star. Conversely, particles with larger pitch angles remain temporarily trapped and form a gradually decaying “cooled-loss-cone” or “funnel” distribution, characterized by the maximum momentum space particle density being located at the edge of the loss cone. The size of the loss cone is energy dependent and scales asα_c ∝ γ^3/10. Synchrotron losses are strongest in a well-localized region of the magnetosphere, a few hundred to a thousand stellar radii under typical pulsar and magnetar conditions. This region is a plausible site for synchrotron radiation originating in the outer magnetosphere, and could also be responsible for nonpolar coherent pulsar emission, as well as weak fast radio bursts. 

A theory of the spectral ‘zebra’ pattern of the Crab pulsar’s high-frequency interpulse (HFIP) radio emission is developed. The observed emission bands are interference maxima caused by multiple ray propagation through the pulsar magnetosphere. The high-contrast interference pattern is the combined effect of gravitational lensing and plasma de-lensing of light rays. The model enables space-resolved tomography of the pulsar magnetosphere, yielding a radial plasma density profile of$$n_{e}\propto r^{-3}$$, which agrees with theoretical insights. We predict the zebra pattern trend to change at a higher frequency when the ray separation becomes smaller than the pulsar size. This frequency is predicted to be in the range between 42 and 650 GHz, which is within the reach of existing facilities like ALMA and SMA. These observations hold significant importance and would contribute to our understanding of the magnetosphere. Furthermore, they offer the potential to investigate gravity in the strong field regime near the star’s surface. 

Abstract The large-scale dynamics of most conventional space and astrophysical plasmas are predominantly governed by Alfvén modes, which are low-frequency magnetohydrodynamic modes existing in magnetized media. At scales smaller than the ion gyroscale or frequencies exceeding the ion cyclotron frequency, the Alfvén modes transform into kinetic-Alfvén or whistler modes that significantly contribute to plasma dynamics. However, this scenario reverses in nonneutral pair plasmas, such as those found in the magnetospheres of pulsars and magnetars, around rotating black holes, and in their relativistic jets, as well as in certain laboratory plasmas. In these systems, the large-scale dynamics are governed by hybrid whistler–Alfvén modes, which transform into pure Alfvén modes at smaller scales. We derive the nonlinear equations that describe the dynamics of whistler–Alfvén modes in ultrarelativistic nonneutral magnetically dominated pair plasma and discuss the spectrum of turbulence governed by these equations. 

ABSTRACT We present hydrodynamic simulations of a flavour-mixed two-component dark matter (2cDM) model that utilize IllustrisTNG baryonic physics. The model parameters are explored for two sets of power laws of the velocity-dependent cross-sections, favoured on the basis of previous studies. The model is shown to suppress the formation of structures at scales $$k\gtrsim 10^2\ h\text{ Mpc}^{-1}$$ up to 40 per cent compared to cold dark matter at redshifts $$z\sim 5{-}2$$. We compare our results to structure enhancement and suppression due to cosmological and astrophysical parameters presented in the literature and find that 2cDM effects remain relevant at galactic and subgalactic scales. The results indicate the robustness of the role of non-gravitational dark matter interactions in structure formation and the absence of putative degeneracies introduced by baryonic feedback at high z. The predictions made can be further tested with future Ly $$\alpha$$ forest observations. 

Abstract Dark matter particles were suggested to have an electric charge smaller than the elementary charge unite. The behavior of such a medium is similar to a collisionless plasma. In this paper, we set new stringent constraints on the charge and mass of the millicharged dark matter particle based on observational data on the Bullet X-ray Cluster. 

Ultra-magnetized plasmas, where the magnetic field strength exceeds the Schwinger field of about BQ≈4×1013 G, become of great scientific interest, thanks to the current advances in laser-plasma experiments and astrophysical observations of magnetar emission. These advances demand better understanding of how quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects influence collective plasma phenomena. In particular, Maxwell's equations become nonlinear in the strong-QED regime. Here we present the “QED plasma framework,” which will allow one to systematically explore collective phenomena in a QED-plasma with arbitrary strong magnetic field. Further, we illustrate the framework by exploring low-frequency modes in the ultra-magnetized, cold, electron-positron plasmas. We demonstrate that the classical picture of five branches holds in the QED regime; no new eigenmodes appear. The dispersion curves of all the modes are modified. The QED effects include the overall modification to the plasma frequency, which becomes field-dependent. They also modify resonances and cutoffs of the modes, which become both field- and angle-dependent. The strongest effects are (i) the field-induced transparency of plasma for the O-mode via the dramatic reduction of the low-frequency cutoff well below the plasma frequency, (ii) the Alfvén mode suppression in the large-k regime via the reduction of the Alfvén mode resonance, and (iii) the O-mode slowdown via strong angle-dependent increase in the index of refraction. These results should be important for understanding of a magnetospheric pair plasma of a magnetar and for laboratory laser-plasma experiments in the QED regime. 

Abstract An electron-positron cascade in the magnetospheres of Kerr black holes (BHs) is a fundamental ingredient to fueling the relativisticγ-ray jets seen at the polar regions of galactic supermassive BHs (SMBHs). This leptonic cascade occurs in thespark gapregion of a BH magnetosphere where the unscreened electric field parallel to the magnetic field is present; hence, it is affected by the magnetic field structure. A previous study explored the case of a thin accretion disk, representative of active galactic nuclei. Here we explore the case of a quasi-spherical gas distribution, as is expected to be present around the SMBH Sgr A* in the center of our Milky Way galaxy, for example. The properties and efficiency of the leptonic cascade are studied. The findings of our study and the implications for SMBH systems in various spectral and accretion states are discussed. The relationships and scalings derived from varying the mass of the BH and background photon spectra are further used to analyze the leptonic cascade process to power jets seen in astronomical observations. In particular, one finds the efficiency of the cascade in a quasi-spherical gas distribution peaks at the jet axis. Observationally, this should lead to a more prominent jet core, in contrast to the thin disk accretion case, where it peaks around the jet–disk interface. One also finds the spectrum of the background photons plays a key role. The cascade efficiency is maximum for a spectral index of 2, while harder and softer spectra lead to a less efficient cascade.