http://arxiv.org/abs/1511.03581
One of the key open questions in the study of relativistic jets is their interaction with the environment. Here, we study the initial evolution of both electron-proton and electron-positron relativistic jets, focusing on their lateral interaction with the ambient plasma. We trace the generation and evolution of the toroidal magnetic field generated by both kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz (kKH) and Mushroom instabilities (MI). This magnetic field collimates the jet. We show that in electron-proton jet, electrons are perpendicularly accelerated with jet collimation. The magnetic polarity switches from the clockwise to anti-clockwise in the middle of jet, as the instabilities weaken. For the electron-positron jet, we find strong mixture of electron-positron with the ambient plasma, that results in the creation of a bow shock. Merger of magnetic field current filaments generate density bumps which initiate a forward shock. The strong mixing between jet and ambient particles prevents full development of the jet on the studied scale. Our results therefore provide a direct evidence for both jet collimation and particle acceleration in the created bow shock. Differences in the magnetic field structures generated by electron-proton and electron-positron jets may contribute to observable differences in the polarized properties of emission by electrons.
K. Nishikawa, J. Frederiksen, A. Nordlund, et. al.
Thu, 12 Nov 15
56/61
Comments: 25 pages, 12 figures, submitted to ApJ
You must be logged in to post a comment.