Microscopic Processes in Global Relativistic Jets Containing Helical Magnetic Fields: Dependence on Jet Radius

In this study, we investigate the interaction of jets with their environment at a microscopic level, which is a key open question in the study of relativistic jets. Using small simulation systems during past research, we initially studied the evolution of both electron–proton and electron–positron r...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi, Mizuno, Yosuke, Gómez Fernández, José L., Duţan, Ioana, Meli, Athina, White, Charley, Niemiec, Jacek, Kobzar, Oleh, Pohl, Martin, Pe’er, Asaf, Frederiksen, Jacob Trier, Nordlund, Åke, Sol, Helene, Hardee, Philip E., Hartmann, Dieter H.
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2017
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/156761
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/156761
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:ddc:520
ddc:530
Descrição
Resumo:In this study, we investigate the interaction of jets with their environment at a microscopic level, which is a key open question in the study of relativistic jets. Using small simulation systems during past research, we initially studied the evolution of both electron–proton and electron–positron relativistic jets containing helical magnetic fields, by focusing on their interactions with an ambient plasma. Here, using larger jet radii, we have performed simulations of global jets containing helical magnetic fields in order to examine how helical magnetic fields affect kinetic instabilities, such as the Weibel instability, the kinetic Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (kKHI) and the mushroom instability (MI). We found that the evolution of global jets strongly depends on the size of the jet radius. For example, phase bunching of jet electrons, in particular in the electron–proton jet, is mixed with a larger jet radius as a result of the more complicated structures of magnetic fields with excited kinetic instabilities. In our simulation, these kinetic instabilities led to new types of instabilities in global jets. In the electron–proton jet simulation, a modified recollimation occurred, and jet electrons were strongly perturbed. In the electron–positron jet simulation, mixed kinetic instabilities occurred early, followed by a turbulence-like structure. Simulations using much larger (and longer) systems are required in order to further thoroughly investigate the evolution of global jets containing helical magnetic fields.