We present Particle-in-Cell simulation results of relativistic shear flows for hybrid positron-electron-ion plasmas and compare to those for pure e+e- and pure e-ion plasmas. Among the three types of relativistic shear flows, we find that only hybrid shear flow is able to energize the electrons to form a high-energy spectral peak plus a hard power-law tail. Such electron spectra are needed to model the observational properties of gamma-ray bursts.
Using 2.5-dimensional Particle-in-Cell simulations, we study the kinetic physics of relativistic shear flow boundary in collisionless electron-positron (e+e-) plasmas. We find efficient magnetic field generation and particle energization at the shear boundary, driven by streaming instabilities across the shear interface and sustained by the shear flow. Nonthermal, anisotropic high-energy particles are accelerated across field lines to produce a power-law tail, truncated at energies below the shear Lorentz factor. These results have important implications for the dissipation and radiation of je…
We present Particle-in-Cell simulation results of relativistic shear boundary layers between electron-ion and electron-positron plasmas and discuss their potential applications to astrophysics. Specifically, we find in the case of a fast electron-positron spine surrounded by a slow-moving or stationary electron-ion sheath, lepton acceleration proceeds in a highly anisotropic manner due to electromagnetic fields created at the shear interface. While the highest-energy leptons still produce a beaming pattern (as seen in the quasi-stationary frame of the sheath) of order 1/Γ, where Γ is the bulk …
Optical re-brightenings in the afterglows of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are unexpected within the framework of the simple external shock model. While it has been suggested that the central engines of some GRBs are newly born magnetars, we aim to relate the behaviors of magnetars to the optical re-brightenings. A newly born magnetar will lose its rotational energy in the form of Poynting-flux, which may be converted into a wind of electron-positron pairs through some magnetic dissipation processes. As proposed by Dai (2004), this wind will catch up with the GRB outflow and a long-lasting reve…
We propose several novel scenarios how capture of small sublunar-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) by compact stars, white dwarfs or neutron stars, can lead to distinct short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) as well as microquasars (MQs). In addition to providing new signatures, relativistic jets from these systems will accelerate positrons to high energies. We find that if PBHs constitute a sizable fraction of DM, they can significantly contribute to the excess observed in the positron flux by the Pamela, the AMS-02 and the Fermi-LAT experiments. Our proposal combines the beneficial features of astr…
Scenario of formation of fast radio bursts (FRBs) is proposed. Just like radio pulsars, sources of FRBs are magnetized neutron stars. Appearance of strong electric field in a magnetosphere of a neutron star is associated with close passage of a dense body near hot neutron star. For the repeating source FRB 121102, which has been observed in four series of bursts, the period of orbiting of the body is about 200 days. Thermal radiation from the surface of the star (temperature is of the order of $ 10^8 \, K $) causes evaporation and ionization of the matter of the dense body. Ionized gas (plasma…
When the magnetosphere of a magnetar is perturbed by crustal deformation, an electric field $E_\parallel$ parallel to the magnetic field line would appear via Alvfén waves in the charge starvation region. The electron-positron pair bunches will be generated via two-stream instability in the magnetosphere, and these pairs will undergo charge separation in the $E_\parallel$ and in the meantime emit coherent curvature radiation. Following the approach of Yang & Zhang (2018), we find that the superposed curvature radiation becomes narrower due to charge separation, with the width of spectrum depen…
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are transient radio sources at cosmological distances. No counterparts in other bands have been observed for { non-repeating FRBs}. Here we suggest the collapse of strange star crusts as a possible origin for FRBs. Strange stars, which are composed of almost equal numbers of u, d, and s quarks, may be encapsulated by a thin crust of normal hadronic matter. When a strange star accretes matter from its environment, the crust becomes heavier and heavier. It may finally collapse, leading to the release of a large amount of magnetic energy and plenty of electron/positron pa…
The Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) offer the unprecedented opportunity to observe for the first time the blackholic energy extracted by the vacuum polarization during the process of gravitational collapse to a black hole leading to the formation of an electron-positron plasma. The uniqueness of the Kerr-Newman black hole implies that very different processes originating from the gravitational collapse a) of a single star in a binary system induced by the companion, or b) of two neutron stars, or c) of a neutron star and a white dwarf, do lead to the same structure for the observed GRB. The recent pro…
Nonlinear radio waves modulate the plasma, scatter on the modulations, and develop an intermittent power spectrum -- perhaps. Rudiments of theory, numerical simulations, and qualitative modeling of nonlinear scattering are presented. Nonlinear radio waves in electron-positron plasma are shown to be unstable, the instability growth rate is calculated. The long-term outcome of the instability is studied numerically; an intermittent power spectrum is found. The frequency coherence scale of the intermittent power spectrum is interpreted as a measure of the nonlinear scattering screen.
This paper examines the possibility that hadronic processes produce the >100 MeV photons in the prompt phase of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by the Fermi-LAT. We calculate analytically the radiation from protons and from secondary electron-positron pairs produced by high energy protons interacting with gamma-rays inside of the GRB jet. We consider both photo-pion and Bethe-Heitler pair production processes to create secondary electrons and positrons that then radiate via inverse Compton and synchrotron processes. We also consider synchrotron radiation from the protons themselves. We calcul…
We explore possible effects of a magnetar burst on the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray flux of a pulsar wind nebula (PWN). We assume that the burst injects electron-positron pairs or powers the magnetic field and explore the total energy at injection and the spectral index needed in order to increase the X-ray flux by about one order of magnitude, as well as its decay time until reaching quiescence. We also explore magnetically powered phenomenology that could explain a temporary increase of the PWN synchrotron emitted flux and perhaps the relatively common lack of PWNe surrounding magnetars. This…
Neutrons play an important role in the dynamics of gamma-ray bursts. The presence of neutrons in the baryon-loaded fireball is expected. If the neutrons abundance is comparable to that of protons, important features may be observed such as quasi-thermal multi-GeV neutrinos in coincidence with a subphotospheric $γ$-ray emission, nucleosynthesis at later times and rebrightening of the afterglow emission. Additionally, thermal MeV neutrinos are created by electron-positron annihilation, electron (positron) capture on protons (neutrons) and nucleonic bremsstrahlung. Although MeV neutrinos are diff…
Recent follow-up observations of the binary neutron star (NS) merging event GW170817/SGRB 170817A reveal that its X-ray/optical/radio emissions are brightening continuously up to $\sim 100$ days post-merger. This late-time brightening is unexpected from the kilonova model or the off-axis top-hat jet model for gamma-ray burst afterglows. In this paper, by assuming that the merger remnant is a long-lived NS, we propose that the interaction between an electron-positron-pair ($e^+e^-$) wind from the central NS and the jet could produce a long-lived reverse shock, from which a new emission componen…
The recent discovery of a Mega-Jansky radio burst occurring simultaneously with short X-ray bursts from the Galactic magnetar (strongly magnetized neutron star (NS)) SGR 1935+2154 is a smoking gun for the hypothesis that some cosmological fast radio bursts (FRBs) arise from magnetar bursts. We argue that the X-ray bursts with high temperature $T \gtrsim 30$ keV entail an electron--positron ($e^{\pm}$) outflow from a trapped--expanding fireball, polluting the NS magnetosphere before the FRB emission. The $e^{\pm}$ outflow is opaque to FRB photons, and is strongly Compton-dragged by the X-ray bu…
Shear Particle Acceleration in Structured Gamma-Ray Burst Jets: I. Physical Origin of the Band Function and Application to GRBs 090926A, 131108A, and 160509A
The ultrarelativistic jets responsible for prompt and afterglow emission in gamma ray bursts are presumably driven by a central engine that consists of a dense accretion disk around a spinning black hole. We consider such engine, composed of free nucleons, electron-positron pairs, Helium nuclei, and cooled by neutrino emission. A significant number density of neutrons in the disk provide conditions for neutron rich plasma in the outflows and jets. Heavy nuclei are also formed in the accretion flow, at the distances 150-250 gravitational radii from the black hole. We study the process of nucleo…
The flux of cosmic-ray high-energy positrons has recently been measured by AMS with unprecedented precision. This flux is well above the expectation from secondary positrons made by the observed fluxes of nuclear cosmic rays impinging on the interstellar medium. Various authors have pointed out that the positron excess may originate at the primary cosmic-ray source itself, rather than in the more local ISM, thus avoiding the temptation to invoke a dark-matter decay or annihilation origin, or nearby pulsars. We investigate the possibility that the source is the one of a comprehensive model of g…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic explosion events in the universe. An amount of gravitational energy of the order of the rest-mass energy of the Sun is released from a small region, within seconds or longer. This should lead to the formation of a fireball of temperature in the MeV range, consisting of electrons/positrons, photons, and a small fraction of baryons. We exploit the potential of GRB fireballs for being a laboratory for testing particle physics beyond the Standard Model, where we find that Weinberg's Higgs portal model serves as a good candidate for this purpose. Due t…
The 511 keV line from positron annihilation in the Galaxy was the first $γ$-ray line detected to originate from outside our solar system. Going into the fifth decade since the discovery, the source of positrons is still unconfirmed and remains one of the enduring mysteries in $γ$-ray astronomy. With a large flux of $\sim$10$^{-3}$ $γ$/cm$^{2}$/s, after 15 years in operation INTEGRAL/SPI has detected the 511 keV line at $>50σ$ and has performed high-resolution spectral studies which conclude that Galactic positrons predominantly annihilate at low energies in warm phases of the interstellar medi…
We show that, contrary to common belief, internal shocks can arise in an accelerating radiation-dominated jet if it is confined even weakly to a converging opening angle because the acceleration declines. The radiation-dominated internal shock (RDIS) enables a very efficient yet highly nonthermal emission by Fermi-like photon acceleration, keeping the electron-positron ($e^{\pm}$) pair photosphere and inertia up to a high Lorentz factor >1000. In gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), a weak confinement would persist beyond the progenitor star or surrounding matter because of the fast cocoon accompanying th…
We discuss the potential for using neutron stars to determine bounds on the Higgs-Kretschmann coupling by looking at peculiar shifts in gamma-ray spectroscopic features. In particular, we reanalyse multiple lines observed in GRB781119 detected by two gamma-ray spectrometers, and derive an upper bound on the Higgs-Kretschmann coupling that is much more constraining than the one recently obtained from white dwarfs. This calls for targeted analyses of spectra of gamma-ray bursts from more recent observatories, dedicated searches for differential shifts on electron-positron and proton-antiproton a…
We investigate the effects of the convection in the hyperaccretion disk around a stellar-mass black hole, which is considered to be the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), with simple analytical calculations. If the convective energy transfer in the vertical direction becomes efficient compared with the inward advective energy transport, the hyperaccretion disk is expected to be hotter and the neutrino emission due to the electron-positron annihilation becomes the most efficient cooling process. We find that the sequence of the thermal equilibrium solutions for the convective hyperaccre…
We study the energy released from phase-transition induced collapse of neutron stars, which results in large amplitude stellar oscillations. To model this process we use a Newtonian hydrodynamic code, with a high resolution shock-capturing scheme. The physical process considered is a sudden phase transition from normal nuclear matter to a mixed phase of quark and nuclear matter. We show that both the temperature and the density at the neutrinosphere oscillate with time. However, they are nearly 180 degree out of phase. Consequently, extremely intense, pulsating neutrino/antineutrino and lepton…
The detection of optical re-brightenings and X-ray plateaus in the afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) challenges the generic external shock model. Recently, we have developed a numerical method to calculate the dynamic of the system consisting of a forward shock and a reverse shock. Here, we briefly review the applications of this method in the afterglow theory. By relating these diverse features to the central engines of GRBs, we find that the steep optical re-brightenings would be caused by the fall-back accretion of black holes, while the shallow optical re-brightenings are the consequen…
We present the results of theoretical analysis and numerical simulations of the Weibel instability in two counter-streaming hot relativistic plasma flows, e.g. flows of electron-proton plasma having rest-mass density $ρ\sim 10^{-4}\; \text{g}\, \text{cm}^{-3}$, Lorentz factors $Γ\sim 10$ and proper temperature $T \sim 10^{13}\; \text{K}$. The instability growth rate and the filament size at the linear stage are found analytically, and are in qualitative agreement with results of three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. In the simulations, incoherent synchrotron emission and pair photopr…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRB) are generally believed to be efficient particle accelerators. In the presence of energetic protons in a GRB jet, interactions between these protons and intense radiation field of the GRB are supposed to induce electromagnetic cascade. Electrons/positrons generated in the cascade will produce an additional spectrum of robust feature, which is in the form of a power-law distribution up to GeV regime with an index of $\lesssim 2$. We suggest that measurements of Fermi-LAT at GeV band can provide independent constraints on the key GRB model parameters such as the dissipation…
The external forward shock emitting the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow is collisionless, and it is mediated by the Weibel instability which generates the magnetic field. The GRB afterglow shows that the magnetic field in the large downstream region is much stronger than the shock-compressed pre-shock field. However, particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of relativistic shocks propagating into homogeneous media show that the Weibel generated field decays near the shock front. Some GRB observations and theoretical studies suggest that the preshock medium is inhomogeneous. We perform the PIC simula…
We compare Particle-in-Cell simulation results of relativistic electron-ion shear flows with different bulk Lorentz factors, and discuss their implications for spine-sheath models of blazar versus gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets. Specifically, we find that most properties of the shear boundary layer scale with the bulk Lorentz factor: the lower the Lorentz factor, the thinner the boundary layer, and the weaker the self-generated fields. Similarly, the energized electron spectrum peaks at an energy near the ion drift energy, which increases with bulk Lorentz factor, and the beaming of the accelerate…
Sub-photospheric shock dissipation is one of the main proposed mechanisms for producing the prompt gamma-ray burst (GRB) emission. Such shocks are mediated by scattering of radiation. We introduce a time dependent, special relativistic code which dynamically couples Monte Carlo radiative transfer to the flow hydrodynamics. The code also self-consistently implements electron-positron pair production and annihilation. We simulate shocks with properties relevant for GRBs and study the steady-state solutions, which are accurate deep below the jet photosphere. The shock generates a power-law photon…
Neutral stellar core at or over nuclear densities is described by a positive charged baryon core and negative charged electron fluid since they possess different masses and interactions. Based on a simplified model of a gravitationally collapsing or pulsating baryon core, we approximately integrate the Einstein-Maxwell equations and the equations for the number and energy-momentum conservation of complete degenerate electron fluid. We show possible electric processes that lead to the production of electron-positron pairs in the boundary of a baryon core and calculate the number and energy of e…
Jets producing gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are likely to carry a neutron component that drifts with respect to the proton component. The neutron-proton collisions strongly heat the jet and generate electron-positron pairs. We investigate radiation produced by this heating using a new numerical code. Our results confirm the recent claim that collisional heating generates the observed Band-type spectrum of GRBs. We extend the model to study the effects of magnetic fields on the emitted spectrum. We find that the spectrum peak remains near 1 MeV for the entire range of the magnetization parameter $0<…
The propagation of a relativistic electron-positron beam in a magnetized electron-ion plasma is studied, focusing on the polarization of the radiation generated in this case. Special emphasis is laid on investigating the polarization of the generated radiation for a range of beam-plasma parameters, transverse and longitudinal beam sizes, and the external magnetic fields. Our results not only help in understanding the high degrees of circular polarization observed in gamma-rays bursts but they also help in distinguishing the different modes associated with the filamentation dynamics of the pair…
We have investigated magnetic field generation in velocity shears via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) using a relativistic plasma jet core and stationary plasma sheath. Our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations consider plasma jet cores with Lorentz factors of 1.5, 5, and 15 for both electron-proton and electron-positron plasmas. For electron-proton plasmas we find generation of strong large-scale DC currents and magnetic fields which extend over the entire shear-surface and reach thicknesses of a few tens of electron skin depths. For electron-positron plasmas we find …
A fraction of gamma-ray bursts exhibit distinct spectral features in their prompt emission below few 10s of keV that exceed simple extrapolations of the low-energy power-law portion of the Band spectral model. This is also true for the prompt optical emission observed in several bursts. Through Monte Carlo simulations, we model such low-energy spectral excess components as hadronic cascade emission initiated by photomeson interactions of ultra-high-energy protons accelerated within GRB outflows. Synchrotron radiation from the cascading, secondary electron-positron pairs can naturally reproduce…
We present the first realistic 3D simulations of flame front instabilities during type I X-ray bursts. The unperturbed front is characterised by the balance between the pressure gradient and the Coriolis force of a spinning neutron star (ν = 450 Hz in our case). This balance leads to a fast horizontal velocity field parallel to the flame front. This flow is strongly sheared in the vertical direction. When we perturb the front an instability quickly corrugates the front. We identify this instability as the baroclinic instability. Most importantly, the flame is not disrupted by the instability a…
Particle energization in shear flows is invoked to explain non-thermal emission from the boundaries of relativistic astrophysical jets. Yet, the physics of particle injection, i.e., the mechanism that allows thermal particles to participate in shear-driven acceleration, remains unknown. With particle-in-cell simulations, we study the development of Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instabilities seeded by the velocity shear between a relativistic magnetically-dominated electron-positron jet and a weakly magnetized electron-ion ambient plasma. We show that, in their nonlinear stages, KH vortices generate k…
Electron-positron plasma is believed to play imporant role both in the early Universe and in sources of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). We focus on analogy and difference between physical conditions of electron-positron plasma in the early Universe and in sources of GRBs. We discuss a) dynamical differences, namely thermal acceleration of the outflow in GRB sources vs cosmological deceleration; b) nuclear composition differences as synthesis of light elements in the early Universe and possible destruction of heavy elements in GRB plasma; c) different physical conditions during last scattering of phot…
The process of neutrino production of electron positron pairs in a magnetic field of arbitrary strength, where electrons and positrons can be created in the states corresponding to excited Landau levels, is analysed. The mean value of the neutrino energy loss due to the process $ν\to νe^- e^+$ is calculated. The result can be applied for calculating the efficiency of the electron-positron plasma production by neutrinos in the conditions of the Kerr black hole accretion disc considered by experts as the most possible source of a short cosmological gamma burst. The presented research can be also…
Forward shocks caused by the interaction between a relativistic blast wave and the circum-burst medium are thought to be responsible for the afterglow emission in Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). We consider the hydrodynamics of a spherical relativistic blast wave expanding into the surrounding medium and we generalize the standard theory in order to account for several effects that are generally ignored. In particular, we consider the role of adiabatic and radiative losses on the hydrodynamical evolution of the shock, under the assumption that the cooling losses are fast. Our model can describe adiab…
We study in a fully kinetic framework the generation of seed magnetic fields through the Weibel instability driven in an initially unmagnetized plasma by a large-scale shear force. We develop an analytical model that describes the development of thermal pressure anisotropy via phase mixing, the ensuing exponential growth of magnetic fields in the linear Weibel stage, and its saturation when the seed magnetic fields become strong enough to instigate gyromotion of particles and thereby inhibit their free-streaming. The predicted scaling dependencies of the saturated seed fields on key parameters…
We report on the first experimental observation of a current-driven instability developing in a quasi-neutral matter-antimatter beam. Strong magnetic fields ($\geq$ 1 T) are measured, via means of a proton radiography technique, after the propagation of a neutral electron-positron beam through a background electron-ion plasma.The experimentally determined equipartition parameter of $ε_B \approx 10^{-3}$, is typical of values inferred from models of astrophysical gamma-ray bursts, in which the relativistic flows are also expected to be pair dominated. The data, supported by Particle-In-Cell sim…
One-dimensional PIC Simulation of Induced Compton Scattering in Magnetized Electron-Positron Pair Plasma
Center for Gravitational Physics and Quantum Information, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University（京都大学汤川理论物理研究所引力物理与量子信息中心）；Department of Physics, Kyoto University（京都大学物理学系）；Graduate School of System Informatics, Kobe University（神户大学系统信息学研究）
Nulling baryonic feedback in weak lensing surveys using cross-correlations with fast radio bursts
Miller Institute for Basic Research, University of California Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校米勒基础研究所）；Department of Physics, University of California Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校物理系）；Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校天文系）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania（宾夕法尼亚大学物理与天文学系）；MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research（麻省理工学院卡弗里天体物理学与空间研究所）；Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院物理系）；Leiden Observatory, Leiden University（莱顿大学莱顿天文台）；Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leiden University（莱顿大学洛伦兹理论物理研究所）
