Affiliation:
1. Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik , Postfach 10 39 80, D-69029 Heidelberg, Germany
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Using an eigenfunction expansion to solve the transport equation, complemented by Monte Carlo simulations, we show that ultrarelativistic shocks can be effective particle accelerators even when they fail to produce large amplitude turbulence in the downstream plasma. This finding contradicts the widely held belief that a uniform downstream magnetic field perpendicular to the shock normal inhibits acceleration by the first-order Fermi process. In the ultrarelativistic limit, we find a stationary power-law particle spectrum of index s = 4.17 for these shocks, close to that predicted for a strictly parallel shock.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Space and Planetary Science,Astronomy and Astrophysics
Cited by
3 articles.
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