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We performed calculations of the late radio and X-ray afterglow of GRB/GW170817 in the cocoon-jet paradigm, predicting the appearance of a second peak in the afterglow light curve ~ one-three years after the explosion. The model assumes that the prompt emission and early afterglows originate from a cocoon generated during break-out of the delayed magnetically powered jet. As the jet breaks out from the torus-generated wind, a nearly isotropic mildly relativistic outflow is generated; at the same time the primary jet accelerates to high Lorentz factors and avoids detection. As the fast jet slows down, it should become visible to the off-axis observer. Thus, the model has a clear prediction: the X-ray and radio afterglows should first experience a decay, as the cocoon slows down, followed by a rebrightening when the primary jet starts emitting toward an observer., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Using analytical and numerical methods (fluid and particle-in-cell simulations) we study a number of model problems involving merger of magnetic flux tubes in relativistic magnetically-dominated plasma. Mergers of current-carrying flux tubes (exemplified by the two dimensional `ABC' structures) and zero total current magnetic flux tubes are considered. In all cases regimes of spontaneous and driven evolution are investigated. We identify two stages of particle acceleration during flux mergers: (i) fast explosive prompt X-point collapse and (ii) ensuing island merger. The fastest acceleration occurs during the initial catastrophic X-point collapse, with the reconnection electric field of the order of the magnetic field. During the X-point collapse particles are accelerated by charge-starved electric fields, which can reach (and even exceed) values of the local magnetic field. The explosive stage of reconnection produces non-thermal power-law tails with slopes that depend on the average magnetization $\sigma$. For plasma magnetization $\sigma \leq 10^2$ the spectrum power law index is $p> 2$; in this case the maximal energy depends linearly on the size of the reconnecting islands. For higher magnetization, $\sigma \geq 10^2$, the spectra are hard, $p< 2$, yet the maximal energy $\gamma_{max}$ can still exceed the average magnetic energy per particle, $ \sim \sigma$, by orders of magnitude (if $p$ is not too close to unity). The X-point collapse stage is followed by magnetic island merger that dissipates a large fraction of the initial magnetic energy in a regime of forced magnetic reconnection, further accelerating the particles, but proceeds at a slower reconnection rate., Comment: 78 pages, Invited contribution, Plasma Physics of gamma ray emission from pulsars and their nebulae, Journal of Plasma Physics. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1603.05731

The extreme properties of the gamma ray flares in the Crab Nebula present a clear challenge to our ideas on the nature of particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical plasma. It seems highly unlikely that standard mechanisms of stochastic type are at work here and hence the attention of theorists has switched to linear acceleration in magnetic reconnection events. In this series of papers, we attempt to develop a theory of explosive magnetic reconnection in highly-magnetized relativistic plasma which can explain the extreme parameters of the Crab flares. In the first paper, we focus on the properties of the X-point collapse. Using analytical and numerical methods (fluid and particle-in-cell simulations) we extend Syrovatsky's classical model of such collapse to the relativistic regime. We find that the collapse can lead to the reconnection rate approaching the speed of light on macroscopic scales. During the collapse, the plasma particles are accelerated by charge-starved electric fields, which can reach (and even exceed) values of the local magnetic field. The explosive stage of reconnection produces non-thermal power-law tails with slopes that depend on the average magnetization $\sigma$. For sufficiently high magnetizations and vanishing guide field, the non-thermal particle spectrum consists of two components: a low-energy population with soft spectrum, that dominates the number census; and a high-energy population with hard spectrum, that possesses all the properties needed to explain the Crab flares., Comment: 32 pages, Invited contribution, Plasma Physics of gamma ray emission from pulsars and their nebulae, Journal of Plasma Physics

We develop a model of gamma-ray flares of the Crab Nebula resulting from the magnetic reconnection events in highly-magnetized relativistic plasma. We first discuss physical parameters of the Crab nebula and review the theory of pulsar winds and termination shocks. We also review the principle points of particle acceleration in explosive reconnection events (Lyutikov et al. 2017a,b). It is required that particles producing flares are accelerated in highly magnetized regions of the nebula. Flares originate from the poleward regions at the base of Crab's polar outflow, where both the magnetization and the magnetic field strength are sufficiently high. The post-termination shock flow develops macroscopic (not related to the plasma properties on the skin-depth scale) kink-type instabilities. The resulting large-scales magnetic stresses drive explosive reconnection events on the light-crossing time of the reconnection region. Flares are produced at the initial stage of the current sheet development, during the X-point collapse. The model has all the ingredients needed for Crab flares: natural formation of highly magnetized regions, explosive dynamics on light travel time, development of high electric fields on macroscopic scales and acceleration of particles to energies well exceeding the average magnetic energy per particle., Comment: 24 pages. Invited contribution, Plasma Physics of gamma ray emission from pulsars and their nebulae, Journal of Plasma Physics

Some fast-moving pulsars, like the Guitar and the Lighthouse, exhibit asymmetric non-thermal emission features that extend well beyond their ram pressure confined pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). Using 3D relativistic simulations we explain these features as kinetically streaming pulsar wind particles that escaped into the interstellar medium (ISM) due to reconnection between the PWN and ISM magnetic fields. The structure of the reconnecting magnetic fields at the incoming and outgoing regions produce highly asymmetric magnetic bottles, and result in asymmetric extended features. For the features to become visible, the ISM magnetic field should be sufficiently high, $B_{\rm ISM}>10$~$\mu$G. We also discuss archival observations of PWNe displaying evidence of kinetic jets: the Dragonfly PWN (PSR J2021+3651), G327.1--1.1, and MSH 11--62, the latter two of which exhibit "snail eyes" morphologies. We suggest that in those cases the pulsar is moving along the ambient magnetic field in a frisbee-type configuration., Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, submitted to MNRAS

Bow-shock pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) show a variety of morphological shapes. We attribute this diversity to the geometrical factors: relative orientations of the pulsar rotation axis, proper velocity, and the line of sight (magnetic inclination angle may also have a certain influence on the morphology). We identify three basic types of bow-shock nebulae: (i) a "Rifle Bullet" (pulsar spin axis and proper velocity are aligned); (ii) a "Frisbee" (pulsar spin axis and proper velocity are orthogonal with the spin axis lying in the plane of the sky), and (iii) a Cart Wheel" (like frisbee but the spin axis is perpendicular to the plane of the sky). Using 3D RMHD simulations, as well as analytical calculations, we reproduce the key morphological features of the bow-shock PWNe, as well as variations, are seen across different systems. magnetic stresses within the shocked pulsar wind affect the overall structure strongly, producing "whiskers", "tails", "filled-in" and "mushroom" shapes, as well as non-symmetric morphologies. On the other hand, the interstellar medium inhomogeneities and the anisotropy of the energy flux in the pulsar wind have only a mild impact of the PWN morphology. In a few cases, when we clearly identify specific morphological structures, our results do not favor alignment of the pulsar spin axis and proper velocity. Our calculations of the underlying emission processes explain the low synchrotron X-ray efficiency (in terms of the spin-down luminosity) and imply an energetical subdominant contribution of the inverse Compton process., Comment: 27 pages, 27 figures, accepted by MNRAS

We perform spectral analyses of four bright $\gamma$-ray pulsars: PSR J0007+7303, Vela, Geminga and PSR J2021+3651 concentrating on the high-energy tails, defined as emission above 10\,GeV. The two competing models of pulsar $\gamma$-ray emission predict qualitatively different spectra well above the break energy: curvature emission predicts an exponential cut-off in the spectra, while the inverse-Compton scattering mechanism favors a power-law. We perform fits to the phase-averaged spectral energy distributions for each of the four pulsars. We find that in all cases both models fit the data equally well---the present data set does not allow any firm claim to be made about the shape of the spectra above 10\,GeV. In no case is the power-law fit or exponential cut-off fit significantly preferred over the other. The Crab pulsar remains the only known pulsar in which the power-law fit is clearly preferred over the exponential cut-off.

We consider the structure of mildly relativistic shocks in dense media, taking into account the radiation and pair loading, and diffusive radiation energy transfer within the flow. For increasing shock velocity (increasing post-shock temperature), the first important effect is the efficient energy redistribution by radiation within the shock that leads to the appearance of an isothermal jump, whereby the flow reaches the finial state through a discontinuous isothermal transition. The isothermal jump, on scales much smaller that the photon diffusion length, consists of a weak shock and a quick relaxation to the isothermal conditions. Highly radiation-dominated shocks do not form isothermal jump. Pair production can mildly increase the overall shock compression ratio to $\approx 10$ (from $4$ for matter-dominated shocks and $7$ of the radiation-dominated shocks).

We point out that for sufficiently strong shocks, with Mach number $ M_1 > \sqrt{\frac{3 \gamma -1}{(3-\gamma ) \gamma }}= 1.34$ ($\gamma=5/3$), the solutions for cosmic ray-modified shocks experiences a bifurcation. As a result, for super-critical flows an isothermal jump forms (which is not a shock). The isothermal jump forms due to the energy diffusion of fast, but energetically subdominant cosmic rays. For super-critical flows the isothermal jump appears regardless of a particular feed-back mechanism from the CRs. The compression ratio at the isothermal jump is $2/ (\gamma-1)=3$, so that in the test particle regime the expected spectrum of low energy CRs experiencing first-order Fermi process is $p = 2\gamma/(3- \gamma) = 5/2$, steeper than conventional $p=2$.

We present our observations of electromagnetic transients associated with GW170817/GRB 170817A using optical telescopes of Chilescope observatory and Big Scanning Antenna (BSA) of Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory at 110MHz. The Chilescope observatory detected an optical transient of $\sim19^m$ on the third day in the outskirts of the galaxy NGC 4993; we continued observations following its rapid decrease. We put an upper limit of $1.5\times10^{4}$ Jy on any radio source with a duration of 10-60 s which may be associated with GW170817/GRB 170817A. The prompt gamma-ray emission consists of two distinctive components - a hard short pulse delayed by $\sim2$ seconds with respect to the LIGO signal and softer thermal pulse with $T\sim 10 $ keV lasting for another $\sim2$ seconds. The appearance of a thermal component at the end of the burst is unusual for short GRBs. Both the hard and the soft components do not satisfy the Amati relation, making GRB 170817A distinctively different from other short GRBs. Based on gamma-ray and optical observations, we develop a model for the prompt high-energy emission associated with GRB 170817A. The merger of two neutron stars creates an accretion torus of $\sim10^{-2} M_\odot$, which supplies the black hole with magnetic flux and confines the Blandford-Znajek-powered jet. We associate the hard prompt spike with the quasispherical breakout of the jet from the disk wind. As the jet plows through the wind with subrelativistic velocity, it creates a radiation-dominated shock that heats the wind material to tens of kiloelectron volts, producing the soft thermal component., Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures

We consider structure and emission properties of a pair plasma fireball that cools due to radiation. At temperatures $T \geq 0.5 m_e c^2$ the cooling takes a form of clearly defined cooling wave, whereby the temperature and pair density experience a sharp drop within a narrow region. The surface temperature, corresponding to the location where the optical depth to infinity reaches unity, never falls much below $0.1 m_e c^2 \approx 50$ keV. The propagation velocity of the cooling wave is much smaller than the speed of light and decreases with increasing bulk temperature.

The Crab pulsar has striking radio emission properties, with the two dominant pulse components -- the main pulse and the interpulse -- consisting entirely of giant pulses. The emission is scattered in both the Crab nebula and the interstellar medium, causing multi-path propagation and thus scintillation. We study the scintillation of the Crab's giant pulses using phased Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope data at 1668\,MHz. We find that giant pulse spectra correlate at only $\sim 2 \%$, much lower than the $1/3$ correlation expected from a randomized signal imparted with the same impulse response function. In addition, we find that the main pulse and the interpulse appear to scintillate differently; the 2D cross-correlation of scintillation between the interpulse and main pulse has a lower amplitude, and is wider in time and frequency delay than the 2D autocorrelation of main pulses. These lines of evidence suggest that the giant pulse emission regions are extended, and that the main pulse and interpulse arise in physically distinct regions which are resolved by the scattering screen. Assuming the scattering takes place in the nebular filaments, the emission regions are of order a light cylinder radius, as projected on the sky. With further VLBI and multi-frequency data, it may be possible to measure the distance to the scattering screens, the size of giant pulse emission regions, and the physical separation between the pulse components., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, published in ApJ

We discuss a scenario of short Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) following a merger of a massive ONeMg white dwarf (WD) with a CO WD, and an ensuing accretion induced collapse (AIC). An initial system with the primary mass $M_1 \sim 6-10 \, M_\odot$ and the secondary mass $M_2 \sim 3-6\, M_\odot$ forms, via two distinct evolutionary channels, a double degenerate CO-ONeMg WD system. For sufficiently large mass ratio $q \equiv M_2/M_1 > q_{crit} \sim 0.25$ the ensuing gravitational wave-driven mass transfer is unstable, whereby the less massive CO WD is disrupted and transfers its mass to the primary ONeMg WD on a few orbital time scales. The merger product ignites shell CO burning, adding mass to the degenerate core; at the same time mass and angular momentum is lost due to powerful winds. For an ONeMg WD sufficiently close to the Chandrasekhar mass an electron-capture accretion induced collapse (AIC) follows $\sim 10^4$ years afterwards. We associate the prompt short GRB emission with a direct collapse of an ONeMg WD to a neutron star, without formation of an accretion disk. After the collapse the accretion of the unburnt part of the shell onto the newly formed NS powers the extended emission (EE). During the collapse the neutron star is spun to millisecond periods and produce long lasting relativistic winds that shock against the material lost during the shell-burning stage, and produce afterglow emission from the wind termination shock., Comment: Submitted to MNRAS on July 17th 2017

We consider the double-shock structure of ultra-relativistic flows produced by the interaction of magnetized wind with magnetized external medium. The contact discontinuity (CD) is a special point in the flow - density, kinetic pressure and magnetic field experience a jump or are non-analytic on the CD. To connect dynamically the outside region (the forward shock flow) with the inside region (the reverse shock flow) requires resolving flow singularities at the contact discontinuity. On the CD the pressure is communicated exclusively by the magnetic field on both sides - the CD becomes an Alfven tangential discontinuity. Thus, the dynamic amplification of the magnetic field leads to a formation of a narrow magnetosheath. We discussed a possibility that particles emitting early $X$-ray afterglows, as well as Fermi GeV photons, are accelerated via magnetic reconnection processes in the post-reverse shock region, and in the magnetosheath in particular.

We present a simple prescription for the rotation of polarization produced by a relativistically moving gravitational lens, applicable to arbitrary deflection angle and arbitrary velocity of the lens. When geometric optics is applicable, two independent components contribute to the total rotation of polarization: (i) in the frame of the lens the polarization vector experiences minimal rotation defined by the deflection angle (as measured by a set of remote observers, or no rotation if defined in terms of parallel-propagated tetrad); (ii) the effect of the motion of the lens on the polarization can be taken into account exactly using special relativistic Lorentz transformation of polarization. The effects of the gravitational lensing are thus parametrized by the deflection angle of the null geodesics (not necessarily small) and the motion of the lens (not necessarily with velocities much smaller than that of light).

In our prior papers, we considered the non-relativistic linear stability analysis of magnetized jets that do not have current sheet at the boundary. In this paper, we extend our analysis to relativistic jets. In order to find the unstable modes of current sheet-free, magnetized relativistic jets, we linearize full relativistic magnetohydrodynamics equations and solve them numerically. We find the dispersion relation of the pinch and kink mode instabilities. By comparing the dispersion relations of mildly relativistic jet (Lorentz factor 2) with moderately relativistic jet (Lorentz factor 10), we find that the jet with higher Lorentz factor is significantly more stable in both pinch and kink modes. We show that inclusion of the current sheet-free magnetic field in the jet further enhances the stability. Both pinch and kink mode instabilities become progressively more stable with increasing magnetization. We also show a scaling relation between the maximum temporal growth rate of the unstable mode and the Lorentz factor of the jet. The maximum temporal growth rates of the unstable modes are inversely proportion to the Lorentz factors for most of the modes that we study. However, for the fundamental pinch mode it is inversely proportional to the square of the Lorentz factor. This very beneficial scaling relation holds regardless of the presence of a magnetic field., Comment: 41 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present a model of blazar variability that can both reproduce smooth large polarization angle swings, and at the same time allow for the seemingly random behaviour of synchrotron fluxes, polarization fraction and, occasionally, $\pi$/2 polarization jumps. We associate blazar flaring activity with a jet carrying helical magnetic fields and propagating along a variable direction (and possibly with a changing bulk Lorentz factor). The model predicts that for various jet trajectories (i) EVPA can experience large smooth temporal variations while at the same time polarization fraction ($\Pi$) can be highly variable; (ii) $\Pi \sim 0$ near sudden EVPA jumps of 90$^{\circ}$, but can also remain constant for large, smoother EVPA swings; (iii) the total angle of EVPA rotation can be arbitrary large; (iv) intensity I is usually maximal at points of fastest EVPA changes, but can have a minimum. Thus, even for a regular, deterministic motion of a steadily emitting jet the observed properties can vary in a non-monotonic and/or seemingly stochastic way. Intrinsic fluctuations of the emissivity will further complicated the intensity profiles, but are expected to preserve the polarization structure., Comment: 11 pages, 18 figures, 2 tables; accepted for publication by MNRAS

We can probe observationally and reproduce theoretically intricate properties of the Crab Nebula nearest to the pulsar - The Inner Knot. The tiny knot is indeed a bright spot on the surface of a quasi-stationary magnetic relativistic shock that accelerates particles. It is required that the part of the wind that produces the Inner Knot has low magnetization; thus, it is not a site of gamma-ray flares. We develop a model of particle acceleration during explosive reconnection events in relativistic highly magnetized plasma and apply the model to explain the Crab gamma-ray flares. Particles are efficiently accelerated by charge-starved DC-type electric fields during initial stages of magnetic flux merges. By implication, the magnetic reconnection is an important, and possibly dominant process of particle acceleration in high energy astrophysical sources., Comment: Proceedings, Shklovsky 100

We consider fluid dynamics of relativistic double explosion - when a point explosion with energy $E_1$ is followed by a second explosion with energy $E_2$ after time $t_d$ (the second explosion could be in a form of a long lasting wind). The primary explosion creates a self-similar relativistic blast wave propagating with \Lf\ $\Gamma_1(t)$. A sufficiently strong second explosion, with total energy $E_2 \geq 10^{-2} E_1$, creates a fast second shock in the external fluid previously shocked by the primary shock. At times longer than the interval between the explosions $t_d$, yet short compared with the time when the second shock catches up the primary shock at $\sim t_d \Gamma_1^2$, the structure of the second shock is approximately self-similar. Self-similar structure of the second shock exist for the case of constant external density (in this case $\Gamma_2 \propto t^{-7/3}$), but not for the wind environment. At early times the \Lf\ of the second shock may exceed that of the primary shock and may boost the synchrotron emission of locally accelerated electrons into the Fermi LAT range.

We argue that the localization of the Repeating FRB at $\sim 1$ Gpc excludes rotationally-powered type of radio emission (e.g., analogues of Crab's giant pulses coming from very young energetic pulsars) as the origin of FRBs.

We develop a model of early GRB afterglows with the dominant $X$-ray contribution from the reverse shock (RS) propagating in highly relativistic (Lorentz factor $\gamma_w \sim 10^6$) magnetized wind of a long-lasting central engine. The model reproduces, in a fairly natural way, the overall trends and yet allows for variations in the temporal and spectral evolution of early optical and $X$-ray afterglows. The high energy and the optical synchrotron emission from the RS particles occurs in the fast cooling regime; the resulting synchrotron power $L_s$ is a large fraction of the wind luminosity, $L_s \approx L_w/\sqrt{1+\sigma_w}$ ($L_w$ and $\sigma_w$ are wind power and magnetization). Thus, plateaus - parts of afterglow light curves that show slowly decreasing spectral power - are a natural consequence of the RS emission. Contribution from the forward shock (FS) is negligible in the $X$-rays, but in the optical both FS and RS contribute similarly: the FS optical emission is in the slow cooling regime, producing smooth components, while the RS optical emission is in the fast cooling regime, and thus can both produce optical plateaus and account for fast optical variability correlated with the $X$-rays, e.g., due to changes in the wind properties. We discuss how the RS emission in the $X$-rays and combined FS and RS emission in the optical can explain many of puzzling properties of early GRB afterglows.

Knots (emission features in jets of active galactic nuclei) often show non-ballistic dynamics and variable emission/polarization properties. We model these features as emission pattern propagating in a jet that carries helical magnetic field and is launched along a changing direction. The model can reproduce a wide range of phenomena observed in the motion of knots: non-ballistic motion (both smooth and occasional sudden change of direction, and/or oscillatory behavior), variable brightness, confinement of knots' motion within an overlaying envelope. The model also reproduces smooth large polarization angle swings, and at the same time allows for the seemingly random behavior of synchrotron fluxes, polarization fraction and occasional $\pi/2$ polarization jumps., Comment: Proceedings, Jets2016

The direction of polarization produced by a moving source rotates with the respect to the rest frame. We show that this effect, induced by pulsar rotation, leads to an important correction to polarization swings within the framework of rotating vector model (RVM); this effect has been missed by previous works. We construct relativistic RVM taking into account finite heights of the emission region that lead to aberration, time-of-travel effects and relativistic rotation of polarization. Polarizations swings at different frequencies can be used, within the assumption of the radius-to-frequency mapping, to infer emission radii and geometry of pulsars.

We discuss possible electromagnetic signals accompanying Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) that are expected in the scenario where FRBs originate in neutron star magnetospheres. For models involving Crab-like giant pulses, no appreciable contemporaneous emission is expected at other wavelengths. Magnetar giant flares, driven by the reconfiguration of the magnetosphere, however, can produce both contemporaneous bursts at other wavelengths as well as afterglow-like emission. We conclude that the best chances are: (i) prompt short GRB-like emission; (ii) a contemporaneous optical flash that can reach naked eye peak luminosity (but only for a few milliseconds); (iii) a high energy afterglow emission. Case (i) could be tested by coordinated radio and high-energy experiments. Case (ii) could be seen in a coordinated radio-optical surveys, \eg\ by the Palomar Transient Factory in a 60-second frame as a transient object of $m=15-20$ magnitude with an expected optical detection rate of about 0.1~hr$^{-1}$, an order of magnitude higher than in radio. Shallow, but large-area sky surveys such as ASAS-SN and EVRYSCOPE could also detect prompt optical flashes from the more powerful Lorimer-burst clones. The best constraints on the optical-to-radio power for this kind of emission could be provided by future observations with facilities like LSST. Case (iii) might be seen in relatively rare cases that the relativistically ejected magnetic blob is moving along the line of sight.

We develop a model of particle acceleration in explosive reconnection events in relativistic magnetically-dominated plasmas and apply it to explain gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula. The model relies on development of current-driven instabilities on macroscopic scales (not related to plasma skin depths). Using analytical and numerical methods (fluid and particle-in-cell simulations), we study a number of model problems in relativistic magnetically-dominated plasma: (i) we extend Syrovatsky's classical model of explosive X-point collapse to magnetically-dominated plasmas; (ii) we consider instability of two-dimensional force-free system of magnetic flux tubes; (iii) we consider merger of two zero total poloidal current magnetic flux tubes. In all cases regimes of spontaneous and driven evolution are investigated. We identify two stages of particle acceleration: (i) fast explosive prompt X-point collapse and (ii) ensuing island merger. The fastest acceleration occurs during the initial catastrophic X-point collapse, with the reconnection electric field of the order of the magnetic field. The explosive stage of reconnection produces non-thermal power-law tails with slopes that depend on the average magnetization. The X-point collapse stage is followed by magnetic island merger that dissipates a large fraction of the initial magnetic energy in a regime of forced reconnection, further accelerating the particles, but proceeds at a slower reconnection rate. Crab flares result from the initial explosive stages of magnetic island mergers of magnetic flux tubes produced in the bulk of nebula at intermediate polar regions. The post-termination shock plasma flow in the wind sectors with mild magnetization naturally generates large-scale highly magnetized structures. Internal kink-like instabilities lead to the formation of macroscopic current-carrying magnetic flux tubes that merge explosively., Comment: 140 pages, 81 figures, submitted to the Journal of Plasma Physics on March 16th 2016 -- invited contribution to the special collection on "Plasma Physics of Gamma Ray Emission from Pulsars and their Nebulae"

We discuss possible association of fast radio bursts (FRBs) with supergiant pulses emitted by young pulsars (ages $\sim$ tens to hundreds of years) born with regular magnetic field but very short -- few milliseconds -- spin periods. FRBs are extra-Galactic events coming from distances $d \lesssim 100$ Mpc. Most of the dispersion measure (DM) comes from the material in the freshly ejected SNR shell; for a given burst the DM should decrease with time. FRBs are not expected to be seen below $\sim 300 $ MHz due to free-free absorption in the expanding ejecta. A supernova might have been detected years before the burst; FRBs are mostly associated with star forming galaxies. The model requires that some pulsars are born with very fast spins, of the order of few milliseconds. The observed distribution of spin-down powers $\dot{E}$ in young energetic pulsars is consistent with equal birth rate per decade of $\dot{E}$. Accepting this injection spectrum and scaling the intrinsic brightness of FRBs with $\dot{E}$, we predict the following properties of a large sample of FRBs: (i) the brightest observed events come from a broad distribution in distances; (ii) for repeating bursts brightness either remains nearly constant (if the spin-down time is longer than the age of the pulsar) or decreases with time otherwise; in the latter case DM $\propto \dot{E}$.

In a prior paper (Kim et al. 2015) we considered the linear stability of magnetized jets that carry no net electric current and do not have current sheets. In this paper, in addition to physically well-motivated magnetic field structures, we also include the effects of jet shear. The jets we study have finite thermal pressure in addition to having realistic magnetic field structures and velocity shear. We find that shear has a strongly stabilizing effect on various modes of jet instability. Increasing shear stabilizes the fundamental pinch modes at long wavelengths and short wavelengths. Increasing shear also stabilizes the first reflection pinch modes at short wavelengths. Increasing shear has only a very modest stabilizing effect on the fundamental kink modes at long wavelengths; however, increasing shear does have a strong stabilizing effect on the fundamental kink modes at short wavelengths. The first reflection kink modes are strongly stabilized by increasing shear at shorter wavelengths. Overall, we find that the combined effect of magnetic field and shear stabilizes jets more than shear alone. In addition to the results from a formal linear stability analysis, we present a novel way of visualizing and understanding jet stability. This gives us a deeper understanding of the enhanced stability of sheared, magnetized jets. We also emphasize the value of our numerical approach in understanding the linear stability of jets with realistic structure., Comment: 41 pages, 14 figures, submitted to MNRAS

We argue that the physical constraints required by the association of the Fermi GBM signal contemporaneous with GW150914 - radiative power of $10^{49} $ erg s$^{-1}$, and corresponding magnetic fields on the black hole of the order of $10^{12}$ Gauss - are astrophysical highly implausible. Combined with the relatively high random probability of coincidence of 0.22 percents, we conclude that the electromagnetic signal is likely unrelated to the BH merger.

This paper describes the Polarization Spectroscopic Telescope Array (PolSTAR), a mission proposed to NASA's 2014 Small Explorer (SMEX) announcement of opportunity. PolSTAR measures the linear polarization of 3-50 keV (requirement; goal: 2.5-70 keV) X-rays probing the behavior of matter, radiation and the very fabric of spacetime under the extreme conditions close to the event horizons of black holes, as well as in and around magnetars and neutron stars. The PolSTAR design is based on the technology developed for the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission launched in June 2012. In particular, it uses the same X-ray optics, extendable telescope boom, optical bench, and CdZnTe detectors as NuSTAR. The mission has the sensitivity to measure ~1% linear polarization fractions for X-ray sources with fluxes down to ~5 mCrab. This paper describes the PolSTAR design as well as the science drivers and the potential science return., Comment: (Astroparticle Physics in press, 34 pages, 23 figures, 6 tables)

We investigate the density-shear instability in Hall-MHD via numerical simulation of the full non-linear problem, in the context of magnetar activity. We confirm the development of the instability of a plane-parallel magnetic field with an appropriate intensity and electron density profile, in accordance with analytic theory. We find that the instability also appears for a monotonically decreasing electron number density and magnetic field, a plane-parallel analogue of an azimuthal or meridional magnetic field in the crust of a magnetar. The growth rate of the instability depends on the Hall properties of the field (magnetic field intensity, electron number density and the corresponding scale-heights), while being insensitive to weak resistivity. Since the Hall effect is the driving process for the evolution of the crustal magnetic field of magnetars, we argue that this instability is critical for systems containing strong meridional or azimuthal fields. We find that this process mediates the formation of localised structures with much stronger magnetic field than the average, which can lead to magnetar activity and accelerate the dissipation of the field and consequently the production of Ohmic heating. Assuming a $5\times10^{14}$G magnetic field at the base of crust, we anticipate that magnetic field as strong as $10^{15}$G will easily develop in regions of typical size of a few $10^{2}$ meters, containing magnetic energy of $10^{43}$erg, sufficient to power magnetar bursts. These active regions are more likely to appear in the magnetic equator where the tangential magnetic field is stronger., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS Letters, 3 Figures, 1 Table

We model the inner knot of the Crab Nebula as a synchrotron emission coming from the non-spherical MHD termination shock of relativistic pulsar wind. The post-shock flow is mildly relativistic; as a result the Doppler-beaming has a strong impact on the shock appearance. The model can reproduce the knot location, size, elongation, brightness distribution, luminosity and polarization provided the effective magnetization of the section of the pulsar wind producing the knot is low, $\sigma \leq 1$. In the striped wind model, this implies that the striped zone is rather wide, with the magnetic inclination angle of the Crab pulsar $\ge 45^\circ$; this agrees with the previous model-dependent estimate based on the gamma-ray emission of the pulsar. We conclude that the tiny knot is indeed a bright spot on the surface of a quasi-stationary magnetic relativistic shock and that this shock is a site of efficient particle acceleration. On the other hand, the deduced low magnetization of the knot plasma implies that this is an unlikely site for the Crab's gamma-ray flares, if they are related to the fast relativistic magnetic reconnection events., Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures

In this paper we consider stability of magnetized jets that carry no net electric current and do not have current sheets (Gourgouliatos et al. 2012). The non-relativistic MHD equations are linearized around the background velocity and the magnetic field structure of the jet. The resulting linear equations are solved numerically inside the jet. We find that introduction of current-sheet-free magnetic field significantly improves jet stability relative to unmagnetized jets or magnetized jets with current sheets at their surface. This particularly applies to the fundamental pinch and kink modes - they become completely suppressed in a wide range of long wavelengths that are known to become most pernicious to jet stability when the evolution enters the non-linear regime. The reflection modes, both for the pinch and kink instability, also become progressively more stable with increased magnetization., Comment: 42 pages, 20 figures, Submitted to MNRAS

We discuss properties of the ultra-luminous $X$-ray source in the galaxy M82, NuSTAR J095551+6940.8, containing an accreting neutron star. The neutron star has surface magnetic field $ B_{NS} \approx 1.4 \times 10^{13 } \, {\rm G}$ and experiences accretion rate of $9 \times 10^{-7} M_\odot {\rm \, yr}^{-1} $. The magnetospheric radius, close to the corotation radius, is $\sim 2 \times 10^8$ cm. The accretion torque on the neutron star is reduce well below what is expected in a simple magnetospheric accretion due to effective penetration of the stellar magnetic field into the disk beyond the corotation radius. As a result, the radiative force of the surface emission does not lead to strong coronal wind, but pushes plasma along magnetic field lines towards the equatorial disk. The neutron star is nearly an orthogonal rotator, with the angle between the rotation axis and the magnetic moment $\geq 80$ degrees. Accretion occurs through optically thick -- geometrically thin and flat accretion "curtain", which cuts across the polar cap. High radiation pressure from the neutron star surface is nevertheless smaller than that the ram pressure of the accreting material flowing through the curtain, and thus fails to stop the accretion. At distances below few stellar radii the magnetic suppression of the scattering cross-section becomes important. The $X$-ray luminosity (pulsed and persistent components) comes both from the neutron star surface as a hard $X$-ray component and as a soft component from reprocessing by the accretion disk.

We advance a "Solar flare" model of magnetar activity, whereas a slow evolution of the magnetic field in the upper crust, driven by electron MHD (EMHD) flows, twists the external magnetic flux tubes, producing persistent emission, bursts and flares. At the same time the neutron star crust plastically relieves the imposed magnetic field stress, limiting the strain $ \epsilon_t $ to values well below the critical strain $ \epsilon_{crit}$ of a brittle fracture, $ \epsilon_t \sim 10^{-2}\epsilon_{crit} $. Magnetar-like behavior, occurring near the magnetic equator, takes place in all neutron stars, but to a different extent. The persistent luminosity is proportional to cubic power of the magnetic field (at a given age), and hence is hardly observable in most rotationally powered neutron stars. Giant flares can occur only if the magnetic field exceeds some threshold value, while smaller bursts and flares may take place in relatively small magnetic fields. Bursts and flares are magnetospheric reconnection events that launch Alfven shocks which convert into high frequency whistlers upon hitting the neutron star surface. The resulting whistler pulse induces a strain that increases with depth both due to the increasing electron density (and the resulting slowing of the waves), and due to the increasing coherence of a whistler pulse with depth. The whistler pulse is dissipated on a time scale of approximately a day at shallow depths corresponding to $\rho \sim 10^{10} {\rm g cm}^{-3}$; this energy is detected as enhanced post-flare surface emission., Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures

We discuss a novel instability in inertia-less electron magneto-hydrodynamics (EMHD), which arises from a combination of electron velocity shear and electron density gradients. The unstable modes have a lengthscale longer than the transverse density scale, and a growth-rate of the order of the inverse Hall timescale. We suggest that this density-shear instability may be of importance in magnetic reconnection regions on scales smaller than the ion skin depth, and in neutron star crusts. We demonstrate that the so-called Hall drift instability, previously argued to be relevant in neutron star crusts, is a resistive tearing instability rather than an instability of the Hall term itself. We argue that the density-shear instability is of greater significance in neutron stars than the tearing instability, because it generally has a faster growth-rate and is less sensitive to geometry and boundary conditions. We prove that, for uniform electron density, EMHD is "at least as stable" as regular, incompressible MHD, in the sense that any field configuration that is stable in MHD is also stable in EMHD. We present a connection between the density-shear instability in EMHD and the magneto-buoyancy instability in anelastic MHD., Comment: 1 Figure

The double pulsar system PSR J0737-3039A/B offers exceptional possibilities for detailed probes of the structure of the pulsar magnetosphere, pulsar winds and relativistic reconnection. We numerically model the distortions of the magnetosphere of pulsar B by the magnetized wind from pulsar A, including effects of magnetic reconnection and of the geodetic precession. Geodetic precession leads to secular evolution of the geometric parameters and effectively allows a 3D view of the magnetosphere. Using the two complimentary models of pulsar B's magnetosphere, adapted from the Earth's magnetosphere models by Tsyganenko (ideal pressure confinement) and Dungey (highly resistive limit), we determine the precise location and shape of the coherent radio emission generation region within pulsar B's magnetosphere. We successfully reproduce orbital variations and secular evolution of the profile of B, as well as subpulse drift (due to reconnection between the magnetospheric and wind magnetic fields), and determine the location and the shape of the emission region. The emission region is located at about 3750 stellar radii and has a horseshoe-like shape, which is centered on the polar magnetic field lines. The best fit angular parameters of the emission region indicate that radio emission is generated on the field lines which, according to the theoretical models, originate close to the poles and carry the maximum current. When considered together, the results of the two models converge and can explain why the modulation of B's radio emission at A's period is observed only within a certain orbital phase region. Our results imply that the wind of pulsar A has a striped structure only 1000 light cylinder radii away. We discuss the implications of these results for pulsar magnetospheric models, mechanisms of coherent radio emission generation, and reconnection rates in relativistic plasma., Comment: 22 pages, 27 figures

I. There is growing evidence that pulsars' high energy emission is generated via Inverse Compton mechanism. II. The particles producing Crab flares, and possibly most of the Crab Nebula's high energy emission, are accelerated via reconnection events, and not at shock via Fermi mechanisms., Comment: Proceedings, XMM-Newton Science Workshop "Fast and Furious", 6 pages

We discuss three topics: (i) the dynamics of afterglow jet breaks; (ii) the origin of Fermi-LAT photons; (iii) the electromagnetic model of short GRBs, Comment: Proceedings, GRB 2013, Huntsville Gamma-Ray Burst Symposium

(Abridged) We consider dynamics and turbulent interaction of whistler modes within the framework of inertialess electron MHD (EMHD). We argue there is no energy principle in EMHD: any stationary closed configuration is neutrally stable. We consider the turbulent cascade of whistler modes. We show that (i) harmonic whistlers are exact non-linear solutions; (ii) co-linear whistlers do not interact (including counter-propagating); (iii) waves with the same value of the wave vector, $k_1=k_2$, do not interact; (iv) whistler modes have a dispersion that allows a three-wave decay, including into a zero frequency mode; (v) the three-wave interaction effectively couples modes with highly different wave numbers and propagation angles. In addition, linear interaction of a whistler with a single zero-mode can lead to spatially divergent structures via parametric instability. All these properties are drastically different from MHD, so that the qualitative properties of the Alfven turbulence cannot be transferred to the EMHD turbulence. We derive the Hamiltonian formulation of EMHD, and using Bogolyubov transformation reduce it to the canonical form; we calculate the matrix elements for the three-wave interaction of whistlers. We solve numerically the kinetic equation and show that, generally, the EMHD cascade develops within a broad range of angles, while transiently it may show anisotropic, nearly two dimensional structures. Development of a cascade depends on the forcing (non-universal) and often fails to reach a steady state. Analytical estimates predict the spectrum of magnetic fluctuations for the quasi-isotropic cascade $\propto k^{-2}$. The cascade remains weak (not critically-balanced). The cascade is UV-local, while the infrared locality is weakly (logarithmically) violated.

We attribute the rapid spindown of magnetar 1E 2259+586 observed by Archibald et al. (2013), termed the "anti-glitch", to partial opening of the magnetosphere during the X-ray burst, followed by changes of the structure of the closed field line region. To account for the observed spin decrease during the X- ray flare all that is needed is the transient opening, for just one period, of a relatively small fraction of the magnetosphere, of the order of only few percent. More generally, we argue that in magnetars all timing irregularities have magnetospheric origin and are induced either by (i) the fluctuations in the current structure of the magnetosphere (similar to the long term torque variations in the rotationally powered pulsars); or, specifically to magnetars, by (ii) opening of a fraction of the magnetosphere during bursts and flares - the latter events are always accompanied by rapid spindown, an "anti-glitch". Slow rotational motion of the neutron star crust, driven by crustal magnetic fields, leads beyond some twist limit to explosive instability of the external magnetic fields and transient opening of a large magnetic flux in a CME-type event, the post-flares increase of magnetospheric currents accompanied by enhanced X-luminosity and spindown rate, changing profiles, as well as spectral hardening, all in agreement with the magnetospheric model of torque fluctuations.

Astrophysical plasmas can have parameters vastly different from the more studied laboratory and space plasmas. In particular, the magnetic fields can be the dominant component of the plasma, with energy-density exceeding the particle rest-mass energy density. Magnetic fields then determine the plasma dynamical evolution, energy dissipation and acceleration of non-thermal particles. Recent data coming from astrophysical high energy missions, like magnetar bursts and Crab nebula flares, point to the importance of magnetic reconnection in these objects. In this review we outline a broad spectrum of problems related to the astrophysical relevant processes in magnetically dominated relativistic plasmas. We discuss the problems of large scale dynamics of relativistic plasmas, relativistic reconnection and particle acceleration at reconnecting layers, turbulent cascade in force-fee plasmas. A number of astrophysical applications are also discussed., Comment: to be published in Space Science Reviews

We present several models of the magnetic structure of solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs). First, we model CMEs as expanding force-free magnetic structures. While keeping the internal magnetic field structure of the stationary solutions, expansion leads to complicated internal velocities and rotation, while the field structures remain force-free. Second, expansion of a CME can drive resistive dissipation within the CME changing the ionization states of different ions. We fit in situ measurements of ion charge states to the resistive spheromak solutions. Finally, we consider magnetic field structures of fully confined stable magnetic clouds containing both toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields and having no surface current sheets. Expansion of such clouds may lead to sudden onset of reconnection events., Comment: proceedings, XIIth Hvar Astrophys. Colloquium

We observed the Crab pulsar with the 43-m telescope in Green Bank, WV over a timespan of 15 months. In total we obtained 100 hours of data at 1.2 GHz and seven hours at 330 MHz, resulting in a sample of about 95000 giant pulses (GPs). This is the largest sample, to date, of GPs from the Crab pulsar taken with the same telescope and backend and analyzed as one data set. We calculated power-law fits to amplitude distributions for main pulse (MP) and interpulse (IP) GPs, resulting in indices in the range of 2.1-3.1 for MP GPs at 1.2 GHz and in the range of 2.5-3.0 and 2.4-3.1 for MP and IP GPs at 330 MHz. We also correlated the GPs at 1.2 GHz with GPs from the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT), which were obtained simultaneously at a higher frequency (8.9 GHz) over a span of 26 hours. In total, 7933 GPs from the 43-m telescope at 1.2 GHz and 39900 GPs from the GBT were recorded during these contemporaneous observations. At 1.2 GHz, 236 (3%) MP GPs and 23 (5%) IP GPs were detected at 8.9 GHz, both with zero chance probability. Another 15 (4%) low-frequency IP GPs were detected within one spin period of high-frequency IP GPs, with a chance probability of 9%. This indicates that the emission processes at high and low radio frequencies are related, despite significant pulse profile shape differences. The 43-m GPs were also correlated with Fermi gamma-ray photons to see if increased pair production in the magnetosphere is the mechanism responsible for GP emission. A total of 92022 GPs and 393 gamma-ray photons were used in this correlation analysis. No significant correlations were found between GPs and gamma-ray photons. This indicates that increased pair production in the magnetosphere is likely not the dominant cause of GPs. Possible methods of GP production may be increased coherence of synchrotron emission or changes in beaming direction., Comment: 33 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

The "no hair" theorem is not applicable to black holes formed from collapse of a rotating neutron star. Rotating neutron stars can self-produce particles via vacuum breakdown forming a highly conducting plasma magnetosphere such that magnetic field lines are effectively "frozen-in" the star both before and during collapse. In the limit of no resistivity, this introduces a topological constraint which prohibits the magnetic field from sliding off the newly-formed event horizon. As a result, during collapse of a neutron star into a black hole, the latter conserves the number of magnetic flux tubes N_B = e \Phi_\infty /(\pi c \hbar), where \Phi_\infty is the initial magnetic flux through the hemispheres of the progenitor and out to infinity. The black hole's magnetosphere subsequently relaxes to the split monopole magnetic field geometry with self-generated currents outside the event horizon. The dissipation of the resulting equatorial current sheet leads to a slow loss of the anchored flux tubes, a process that balds the black hole on long resistive time scales rather than the short light-crossing time scales expected from the vacuum "no-hair" theorem., Comment: Proceedings, "Relativity and Gravitation, 100 Years after Einstein in Prague"

We discuss growing evidence that pulsar high energy is emission is generated via Inverse Compton mechanism. We reproduce the broadband spectrum of Crab pulsar, from UV to very high energy gamma-rays - nearly ten decades in energy, within the framework of the cyclotron-self-Compton model. Emission is produced by two counter-streaming beams within the outer gaps, at distances above ~ 20 NS radii. The outward moving beam produces UV-X-ray photons via Doppler-booster cyclotron emission, and GeV photons by Compton scattering the cyclotron photons produced by the inward going beam. The scattering occurs in the deep Klein-Nishina regime, whereby the IC component provides a direct measurement of particle distribution within the magnetosphere. The required plasma multiplicity is high, ~ 10^6-10^7, but is consistent with the average particle flux injected into the pulsar wind nebula., Comment: Proceedings, 5th International Symposium on High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy, (Gamma2012) Heidelberg, Germany, July 9-13th, 2012

We reproduce the broadband spectrum of Crab pulsar, from UV to very high energy gamma-rays - nearly ten decades in energy, within the framework of the cyclotron-self-Compton model. Emission is produced by two counter-streaming beams within the outer gaps, at distances above $\sim$ 20 NS radii. The outward moving beam produces UV-$X$-ray photons via Doppler-booster cyclotron emission, and GeV photons by Compton scattering the cyclotron photons produced by the inward going beam. The scattering occurs in the deep Klein-Nishina regime, whereby the IC component provides a direct measurement of particle distribution within the magnetosphere. The required plasma multiplicity is high, $\sim 10^6-10^7$, but is consistent with the average particle flux injected into the pulsar wind nebula. The importance of Compton scattering in the Klein-Nishina regime also implies the importance of pair production in the outer gaps. We suggest that outer gaps are important sources of pairs in pulsar magnetospheres. Cyclotron motion of particles in the pulsar magnetosphere may be excited due to coherent emission of radio waves by streaming particles at the anomalous cyclotron resonance. Thus, a whole range of Crab non-thermal emission, from coherent radio waves to very high energy $\gamma$-rays - nearly eighteen decades in energy - may be a manifestation of inter-dependent radiation processes. The present model, together with the observational evidence in favor of the IC scattering (Lyutikov et al. 2012; Lyutikov 2012), demonstrates that the inverse Compton scattering can be the dominant high energy emission mechanism in majority of pulsars., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures

The unusually short durations, high luminosities, and high photon energies of the Crab Nebula gamma-ray flares require relativistic bulk motion of the emitting plasma. We explain the Crab flares as the result of randomly oriented relativistic "minijets" originating from reconnection events in a magnetically dominated plasma. We develop a statistical model of the emission from Doppler boosted reconnection minijets and find analytical expressions for the moments of the resulting nebula light curve (e.g. time average, variance, skewness). The light curve has a flat power spectrum that transitions at short timescales to a decreasing power-law of index 2. The flux distribution from minijets follows a decreasing power-law of index ~ 1, implying the average flux from flares is dominated by bright rare events. The predictions for the flares' statistics can be tested against forthcoming observations. We find the observed flare spectral energy distributions (SEDs) have several notable features: A hard power-law index of p ~< 1 for accelerated particles that is expected in various reconnection models, including some evidence of a pile-up near the radiation reaction limit. Also, the photon energy at which the SED peaks is higher than that implied by the synchrotron radiation reaction limit, indicating the flare emission regions' Doppler factors are ~> few. We conclude that magnetic reconnection can be an important, if not dominant, mechanism of particle acceleration within the nebula., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS

We consider the dynamics of a mechanical failure induced by a shear stress in a strongly magnetized neutron-star crust. We show that even if the elastic properties of the crust allow the creation of a shear crack, the strongly sheared magnetic field around the crack leads to a back-reaction from the Lorentz force which does not allow large relative displacement of the crack surfaces. Instead, the global evolution of the crack proceeds on a slow resistive time scale, and is unable to release any substantial mechanical energy. Our calculations demostrate that for {\it some} magnetic-field configurations, the magnetic forces cause, effectively, a plastic deformation of the crust when the resulting elastic shear stress exceeds the critical value for mechanical failure., Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, submitted to MNRAS