Linearly Polarized Coherent Emission from Relativistic Magnetized Ion-Electron Shocks.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond transient astrophysical phenomena and bright at radio frequencies. The emission mechanism, however, remains unsolved yet. One scenario is a coherent emission associated with the magnetar flares and resulting relativistic shock waves. Here, we report unprecedentedly large-scale simulations of relativistic magnetized ion-electron shocks, showing that strongly linear-polarized electromagnetic waves are excited. The kinetic energy conversion to the emission is so efficient that the wave amplitude is responsible for the brightness. We also find a polarization angle swing reflecting shock front modulation, implicating the polarization property of some repeating FRBs. The results support the shock scenario as an origin of the FRBs.

Magnetic Field Amplification by the Weibel Instability at Planetary and Astrophysical Shocks with High Mach Number.

Collisionless shocks are ubiquitous in the Universe and often associated with a strong magnetic field. Here, we use large-scale particle-in-cell simulations of nonrelativistic perpendicular shocks in the high-Mach-number regime to study the amplification of the magnetic field within shocks. The magnetic field is amplified at the shock transition due to the ion-ion two-stream Weibel instability. The normalized magnetic field strength strongly correlates with the Alfvénic Mach number. Mock spacecraft measurements derived from particle-in-cell simulations are fully consistent with those taken in situ at Saturn's bow shock by the Cassini spacecraft.

Electron Surfing and Drift Accelerations in a Weibel-Dominated High-Mach-Number Shock.

How electrons get accelerated to relativistic energies in a high-Mach-number quasiperpendicular shock is presented by means of ab initio particle-in-cell simulations in three dimensions. We found that coherent electrostatic Buneman waves and ion-Weibel magnetic turbulence coexist in a strong-shock structure whereby particles gain energy during shock surfing and subsequent stochastic drift accelerations. Energetic electrons that initially experienced the surfing acceleration undergo pitch-angle diffusion by interacting with magnetic turbulence and continuous acceleration during confinement in the shock transition region. The ion-Weibel turbulence is the key to the efficient nonthermal electron acceleration.

A critical Mach number for electron injection in collisionless shocks.

Electron acceleration in collisionless shocks with arbitrary magnetic field orientations is discussed. It is shown that the injection of thermal electrons into the diffusive shock acceleration process is achieved by an electron beam with a loss cone in velocity space that is reflected back upstream from the shock through the shock drift acceleration mechanism. The electron beam is able to excite whistler waves which can scatter the energetic electrons themselves when the Alfvén Mach number of the shock is sufficiently high. A critical Mach number for the electron injection is obtained as a function of upstream parameters. The application to supernova remnant shocks is discussed.