Uri Keshet

Gamma Rays from Intergalactic Shocks

Structure formation in the intergalactic medium (IGM) produces large-scale, collisionless shock waves, in which electrons can be accelerated to highly relativistic energies. Such electrons can Compton-scatter cosmic microwave background photons up to γ-ray energies. We study the radiation emitted in this process using a hydrodynamic cosmological simulation of a ΛCDM universe. The resulting radiation, extending beyond TeV energies, has roughly constant energy flux per decade in photon energy, in agreement with the predictions of Loeb & Waxman. Assuming that a fraction ξe = 0.05 of the shock thermal energy is transferred to the population of accelerated relativistic electrons, as inferred from collisionless nonrelativistic shocks in the interstellar medium, we find that the energy flux of this radiation, 2(dJ/d) 50-160 eV cm-2 s-1 sr-1, constitutes ~10% of the extragalactic γ-ray background flux. The associated γ-ray point sources are too faint to account for the ~60 unidentified EGRET γ-ray sources, but GLAST should detect and resolve several γ-ray sources associated with large-scale IGM structures for ξe 0.03 and many more sources for larger ξe. The intergalactic origin of the shock-induced radiation can be verified through a cross-correlation with, e.g., the galaxy distribution that traces the same structure. Its shock origin may be tested by cross-correlating its properties with radio synchrotron radiation, emitted as the same accelerated electrons gyrate in postshock magnetic fields. We predict that GLAST and Cerenkov telescopes such as MAGIC, VERITAS, and HESS should resolve γ-rays from nearby (redshifts z 0.01) rich galaxy clusters, perhaps in the form of a ~5-10 Mpc diameter ringlike emission tracing the cluster accretion shock, with luminous peaks where the ring intersects galaxy filaments detectable even at z 0.025.

MAGNETIC FIELD EVOLUTION IN RELATIVISTIC UNMAGNETIZED COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS

We study relativistic unmagnetized collisionless shocks using unprecedentedly large particle-in-cell simulations of two-dimensional pair plasma. High energy particles accelerated by the shock are found to drive magnetic field evolution on a timescale >10^4 plasma times. Progressively stronger magnetic fields are generated on larger scales in a growing region around the shock. Shock-generated magnetic fields and accelerated particles carry >1% and >10% of the downstream energy flux, respectively. Our results suggest limits on the magnetization of relativistic astrophysical flows.

Energy spectrum of particles accelerated in relativistic collisionless shocks.

We analytically study diffusive particle acceleration in relativistic, collisionless shocks. We find a simple relation between the spectral index s and the anisotropy of the momentum distribution along the shock front. Based on this relation, we obtain s=(3beta(u)-2beta(u)beta(2)(d)+beta(3)(d))/(beta(u)-beta(d)) for isotropic diffusion, where beta(u) (beta(d)) is the upstream (downstream) fluid velocity normalized to the speed of light. This result is in agreement with previous numerical determinations of s for all (beta(u),beta(d)), and yields s=38/9 in the ultrarelativistic limit. The spectrum-anisotropy connection is useful for testing numerical studies and constraining anisotropic diffusion results. It suggests that the spectrum is highly sensitive to the form of the diffusion function for particles traveling along the shock front.

Relativistic Shocks: Particle Acceleration and Magnetization

We review the physics of relativistic shocks, which are often invoked as the sources of non-thermal particles in pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets, and as possible sources of ultra-high energy cosmic-rays. We focus on particle acceleration and magnetic field generation, and describe the recent progress in the field driven by theory advances and by the rapid development of particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. In weakly magnetized or quasi parallel-shocks (i.e. where the magnetic field is nearly aligned with the flow), particle acceleration is efficient. The accelerated particles stream ahead of the shock, where they generate strong magnetic waves which in turn scatter the particles back and forth across the shock, mediating their acceleration. In contrast, in strongly magnetized quasi-perpendicular shocks, the efficiencies of both particle acceleration and magnetic field generation are suppressed. Particle acceleration, when efficient, modifies the turbulence around the shock on a long time scale, and the accelerated particles have a characteristic energy spectral index of sγ≃2.2

Analytic Study of Rotating Black-Hole Quasinormal Modes

s_{\gamma}\simeq2.2

DYNAMICS AND MAGNETIZATION IN GALAXY CLUSTER CORES TRACED BY X-RAY COLD FRONTS

in the ultra-relativistic limit. We discuss how this novel understanding of particle acceleration and magnetic field generation in relativistic shocks can be applied to high-energy astrophysical phenomena, with an emphasis on PWNe and GRB afterglows.

Asymptotic spectroscopy of rotating black holes

A Bohr-Sommerfeld equation is derived for the highly damped quasinormal mode frequencies

ANALYTIC STUDY OF MASS SEGREGATION AROUND A MASSIVE BLACK HOLE

\ensuremath{\omega}(n\ensuremath{\gg}1)

Self-Similar Collisionless Shocks

of rotating black holes. It may be written as

Deep Chandra Observation and Numerical Studies of the Nearest Cluster Cold Front in the Sky

2{\ensuremath{\int}}_{C}({p}_{r}+i{p}_{0})dr=(n+1/2)h