Inverse Compton Emission and Cooling of Relativistic Particles Accelerated at Shear Boundary Layers in Relativistic Jets

Abstract

Abstract Both observational evidence and theoretical considerations from magnetohydrodynamic simulations of jets suggest that the relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are radially stratified, with a fast inner spine surrounded by a slower-moving outer sheath. The resulting relativistic shear layers are a prime candidate for the site of relativistic particle acceleration in the jets of AGNs and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this article, we present outcomes of particle-in-cell simulations of magnetic-field generation and particle acceleration in the relativistic shear boundary layers (SBLs) of jets in AGNs and GRBs. We investigate the effects of inverse Compton cooling on relativistic particles that are accelerated in the SBLs of relativistic jets, including the self-consistent calculation of the radiation spectrum produced by inverse Compton scattering of relativistic electrons in an isotropic external soft photon field. We find that the Compton cooling can be substantial, depending on the characteristic energy (blackbody temperature and energy density) of the external radiation field. The produced Compton emission is highly anisotropic and more strongly beamed along the jet direction than the characteristic 1/Γ pattern expected from intrinsically isotropic emission in the comoving frame of an emission region moving along the jet with a bulk Lorentz factor Γ. We suggest that this may resolve the long-standing problem of the Doppler factor crisis.