Non-thermal Emission Research Articles

Properties and Energetics of Magnetic Reconnection: I. Evolution of Flare Ribbons

In this article, we measure the mean magnetic shear from the morphological evolution of flare ribbons, and examine the evolution of flare thermal and nonthermal X-ray emissions during the progress of flare reconnection. We analyze three eruptive flares and three confined flares ranging from GOES class C8.0 to M7.0. They exhibit two well-defined ribbons along the magnetic polarity-inversion line (PIL), and have been observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager from the onset of the flare throughout the impulsive phase. The analysis confirms the strong-to-weak shear evolution in the core region of the flare, and the flare hard X-ray emission rises as the shear decreases. In eruptive flares, in this sample, significant nonthermal hard X-ray emission lags the ultraviolet emission from flare ribbons, and rises rapidly when the shear is modest. In all flares, we observe that the plasma temperature rises in the early phase when the flare ribbons rapidly spread along the PIL and the shear is high. We compare these results with prior studies, and discuss their implications, as well as complications, related to the physical mechanisms governing energy partition during flare reconnection.

A Model of Double Coronal Hard X-Ray Sources in Solar Flares

A number of double coronal X-ray sources have been observed during solar flares by RHESSI, where the two sources reside at different sides of the inferred reconnection site. However, where and how these X-ray-emitting electrons are accelerated remains unclear. Here we present the first model of the double coronal hard X-ray (HXR) sources, where electrons are accelerated by a pair of termination shocks driven by bidirectional fast reconnection outflows. We model the acceleration and transport of electrons in the flare region by numerically solving the Parker transport equation using velocity and magnetic fields from the macroscopic magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a flux rope eruption. We show that electrons can be efficiently accelerated by the termination shocks and high-energy electrons mainly concentrate around the two shocks. The synthetic HXR emission images display two distinct sources extending to >100 keV below and above the reconnection region, with the upper source much fainter than the lower one. The HXR energy spectra of the two coronal sources show similar spectral slopes, consistent with the observations. Our simulation results suggest that the flare termination shock can be a promising particle acceleration mechanism in explaining the double-source nonthermal emissions in solar flares.

RXTE Observation of the Nonthermal Emission from the Early Stage Merger in A1750

We make the first observation-based calculation of the energy that goes into cosmic ray protons versus cosmic ray electrons in shock acceleration during structure formation. We find a ratio of energy in cosmic ray protons to energy in cosmic ray electrons of 0.86. This value, calculated from the nonthermal X-ray component reported here from RTXE and the Fermi LAT upper limit for gamma-ray emission, is significantly lower than theoretical estimates that place most of the nonthermal energy in protons. Our estimate is based on the detection of nonthermal X-ray emission using the 3–20 keV RXTE spectrum, which shows residual emission not well modeled by a single thermal component. The statistical significance of adding a nonthermal, power-law component is 96%. The significance of adding a second thermal component is 90%. The addition of a component consisting of full cosmic X-ray background fluctuation to an isothermal model is significant with 92% confidence. The cumulative probability for the two-thermal-component model is 81% and 90% for the thermal plus power law. Thus the model with nonthermal emission is the preferred description of the data. Evidence of shock heating between the clusters in the spectro-imaging data of XMM, Chandra, and Suzaku indicates that a cosmic ray component should also be present and supports a nonthermal interpretation for the additional component. The bolometric nonthermal X-ray luminosity is 1.6 × 1044 ergs s−1, 36% of the total X-ray emission in the 0.1–100 keV band.

Non-thermal emission from the plunging region: a model for the high-energy tail of black hole X-ray binary soft states

ABSTRACT X-ray binaries exhibit a soft spectral state comprising thermal blackbody emission at 1 keV and a power-law tail above 10 keV. Empirical models fit the high-energy power-law tail to radiation from a non-thermal electron distribution, but the physical location of the non-thermal electrons and the reason for their power-law index and high-energy cut-off are still largely unknown. Here, we propose that the non-thermal electrons originate from within the black hole’s innermost stable circular orbit (the ‘plunging region’). Using an analytic model for the plunging region dynamics and electron distribution function properties from particle-in-cell simulations, we outline a steady-state model that can reproduce the observed spectral features. In particular, our model reproduces photon indices of Γ ≳ 2 and power-law luminosities of the order of a few per cent of the disc luminosity for strong magnetic fields, consistent with observations of the soft state. Because the emission originates so close to the black hole, we predict that the power-law luminosity should strongly depend on the system inclination angle and black hole spin. This model could be extended to the power-law tails observed above 400 keV in the hard state of X-ray binaries.

Resonant shattering flares in black hole-neutron star and binary neutron star mergers

ABSTRACT Resonant shattering flares (RSFs) are bursts of gamma-rays expected to be triggered by tidal resonance of a neutron star (NS) during binary inspiral. They are strongly dependent on the magnetic field strength at the surface of the NS. By modelling these flares as being the result of multiple colliding relativistic shells launched during the resonance window, we find that the prompt non-thermal gamma-ray emission may have luminosity up to a few $\times 10^{48}\rm{ erg\,s}^{-1}$, and that a broad-band afterglow could be produced. We compute the expected rates of detectable RSFs using the BPASS population synthesis code, with different assumptions about the evolution of surface magnetic field strengths before merger. We find the rate of detectable RSFs to be ∼0.0001–5 per year for BHNS mergers and ∼0.0005–25 per year for NSNS mergers, with the lower bound corresponding to surface-field decay consistent with magneto-thermal evolution in purely crustal fields, while the upper bounds are for systems that have longer lived surface magnetic fields supported by flux frozen into the superconducting core. If some of the observed SGRB precursor flares are indeed RSFs, this suggests the presence of a longer lived surface field for some fraction of the NS population, and that we could expect RSFs to be the most common detectable EM counterpart to GW detections of BHNS mergers. The non-detection of an RSF prior to GRB170817A provides an upper bound on the magnetic fields of the progenitor NSs of Bsurf ∼ 1013.5G.

Evidence of jet-induced optical microvariability in radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies

ABSTRACT To quantify the role of radio jets for Intra-Night Optical Variability (INOV) in radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 (RLNLSy1) galaxies, we report the first systematic comparative INOV study of 23 RLNLSy1 galaxies, with 15 RLNLSy1s having confirmed detection of jets (jetted) and the remaining 8 RLNLSy1s having no detection of jets (non-jetted) based on their Very Long Baseline Array observations. We have monitored these two samples, respectively, in 37 and 16 sessions of a minimum 3-h duration each. Based upon Fη-test at 99 per cent confidence level with a typical INOV amplitude (ψ) detection threshold of >3 per cent, we find the INOV duty cycles (DC) of 12 per cent for the sample of jetted RLNLSy1s, however, none of the sources showed INOV in the sample of non-jetted RLNLSy1s. Among the jetted RLNLSy1s, we find that the DC for jetted γ-ray detected (γ-ray) RLNLSy1s is found to be 34 per cent in contrast to null INOV detection in the case of non-γ-ray RLNLSy1s. It suggests that instead of the mere presence of a jet, relativistic beaming plays a significant role for INOV in the case of low-luminous high accreting AGNs, such as NLSy1s, in which dilution of the AGN’s non-thermal optical emission by the (much steadier) optical emission contributed by the nuclear accretion disc is quite likely. Our study of jetted γ-ray RLNLSy1s shows more frequent INOV detection for sources with higher apparent jet speed. Further, our results also suggest that among the NLSy1s, only jetted γ-ray RNLSy1 galaxies DC approach blazar-like DC.

Probability distribution for black hole evaporation

Nonthermal correction to the emission probability of particles from black holes can be obtained if the backreaction or self-gravitational effects of the emitted particles on the black hole spacetime are taken into consideration. These nonthermally emitted particles conserve the entropy of the black hole---i.e., the entropy of the system of radiated particles after complete evaporation of the black hole matches the initial entropy of the black hole. Using the nonthermal emission probability, we have determined the probability for a black hole of mass $M$ to be completely evaporated by a given number of particles $n$. This is done by first evaluating the number of possible ways in which the black hole can be evaporated by emitting $n$ number of particles, and then the total number of ways in which the black hole can be evaporated. The ratio of these two quantities gives us the desired probability. From the probability distribution, we get a displacement relation between the most probable number of particles exhausting the black hole and the temperature of the initial black hole. This relation resembles Wien's displacement law for blackbody radiation.

Magnetism, rotation, and nonthermal emission in cool stars

Stellar dynamos generate magnetic fields that are of fundamental importance to the variability and evolution of Sun-like and low-mass stars, and for the development of their planetary systems. As a key to understanding stellar dynamos, empirical relations between stellar parameters and magnetic fields are required for comparison to ab initio predictions from dynamo models. We report measurements of surface-average magnetic fields in 292 M dwarfs from a comparison with radiative transfer calculations; for 260 of them, this is the first measurement of this kind. Our data were obtained from more than 15 000 high-resolution spectra taken during the CARMENES project. They reveal a relation between average field strength, ⟨B⟩, and Rossby number, Ro, resembling the well-studied rotation–activity relation. Among the slowly rotating stars, we find that magnetic flux, ΦB, is proportional to rotation period, P, and among the rapidly rotating stars that average surface fields do not grow significantly beyond the level set by the available kinetic energy. Furthermore, we find close relations between nonthermal coronal X-ray emission, chromospheric Hα and Ca H&K emission, and magnetic flux. Taken together, these relations demonstrate empirically that the rotation–activity relation can be traced back to a dependence of the magnetic dynamo on rotation. We advocate the picture that the magnetic dynamo generates magnetic flux on the stellar surface proportional to rotation rate with a saturation limit set by the available kinetic energy, and we provide relations for average field strengths and nonthermal emission that are independent of the choice of the convective turnover time. We also find that Ca H&K emission saturates at average field strengths of ⟨B⟩≈800 G while Hα and X-ray emission grow further with stronger fields in the more rapidly rotating stars. This is in conflict with the coronal stripping scenario predicting that in the most rapidly rotating stars coronal plasma would be cooled to chromospheric temperatures.

Triggering Mechanism for Eruption of Two Filaments Observed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Nobeyama Radioheliograph, and RHESSI

We investigate the eruptive process of two filaments, which is associated with an M-class flare that occurred in 2011 August 4. The filaments are partly overlapped, one in the active region and the other just beside it, and erupt together as a halo coronal mass ejection. For this study, we used the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and the Heliospheric Magnetic Imager on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Nobeyama Radioheliograph 17 GHz, and the RHESSI Hard X-ray satellite. We found three distinct phases in the microwave flux profile and in the rising pattern of the filaments during the event. In the first phase, there was weak nonthermal emission at 17 GHz and hard X-rays. Those nonthermal sources appeared on one edge of the western filament (F2) in the active region. The F2 began to be bright and rose upward rapidly, while the eastern filament (F1), which was extended to the quiet region, started to brighten from the peak time of the 17 GHz flux. In the second phase, the nonthermal emission weakened and the F2 rose up slowly, while the F1 began to rise up. In the third phase, two filaments erupted together. Since the F1 was stable for a long time in the quiet region, breaking the equilibrium state of the F1 would be decisive for the successful eruption of two filaments and it seems clear that the evolution of the F2 provoked the unstable F1. We suggest that tether-cutting reconnection between two overlapped filaments triggers the eruption of the two filaments as a tangled identity.

Spectral Properties and Hybrid Jet Model Constraints of Fermi GRB 210610B

The jet composition of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is still an open question and the energy spectrum characteristics can provide us with evidence. GRB 210610B is a special burst with low-energy indices that are all greater than the synchrotron cutoff. We first use two empirical models, Band and CPL, and one physics model, a blackbody, to perform time-resolved spectral analysis on GRB 210610B and find that about 76.47% of the spectra need an addition thermal component to obtain a better fit. Moreover, these spectra could be well fitted by a multicolor blackbody (mBB) and the synchrotron model. We then adopt the hybrid jet model proposed by Gao & Zhang to perform a “top-down” approach to diagnose the photospheric properties (η and σ 0) of the central engine from observational data. We find both the dimensionless entropy η and the magnetization parameters (1 + σ 0) are greater than 1, indicating that the Poynting flux component may play an important role in addition to the hot fireball component. Our analysis also shows that most of the spectra have a magnetization parameter (1 + σ 15) ≃ 1 at ∼1015 cm, suggesting that nonthermal emission may originate from internal shocks. Furthermore, we find that α and E p show different time evolution behaviors: α exhibits a “hard-to-soft” behavior and moderately correlates with flux, while E p exhibits a “tracking” behavior. The magnetic field strength B and the mBB parameter kT max also show a “tracking” behavior. Our results suggest that the empirical model CPL may be interpreted by an mBB.

Radio Spectral Energy Distributions for Single Massive Star Winds with Free–Free and Synchrotron Emission

The mass-loss rates from single massive stars are high enough to form radio photospheres at large distances from the stellar surface, where the wind is optically thick to (thermal) free–free opacity. Here we calculate the far-infrared, millimeter, and radio band spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that can result from the combination of free–free processes and synchrotron emission, to explore the conditions for nonthermal SEDs. Simplifying assumptions are adopted in terms of scaling relations for the magnetic field strength and the spatial distribution of relativistic electrons. The wind is assumed to be spherically symmetric, and we consider the effect of Razin suppression on the synchrotron emission. Under these conditions, long-wavelength SEDs with synchrotron emission can be either more steep or more shallow than the canonical asymptotic power-law SED from a nonmagnetic wind. When nonthermal emission is present, the resultant SED shape is generally not a power law; however, the variation in the slope can change slowly with wavelength. Consequently, over a limited range of wavelengths, the SED can masquerade as approximately a power law. While most observed nonthermal long-wavelength spectra are associated with binarity, synchrotron emission can have only a mild influence on single-star SEDs, requiring finer levels of wavelength sampling for the detection of the effect.

“The Goose” Pulsar Wind Nebula of PSR J1016–5857: The Birth of a Plerion

We report the results of X-ray (Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO)) and radio (ATCA) observations of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) powered by the young pulsar PSR J1016–5857, which we dub “the Goose” PWN. In both bands, the images reveal a tail-like PWN morphology that can be attributed to the pulsar’s motion. By comparing archival and new CXO observations, we measure the pulsar’s proper motion μ = 28.8 ± 7.3 mas yr−1, yielding a projected pulsar velocity v ≈ 440 ± 110 km s−1 (at d = 3.2 kpc); its direction is consistent with the PWN shape. Radio emission from the PWN is polarized, with the magnetic field oriented along the pulsar tail. The radio tail connects to a larger radio structure (not seen in X-rays), which we interpret as a relic PWN (also known as a plerion). The spectral analysis of the CXO data shows that the PWN spectrum softens from Γ = 1.7 to Γ ≈ 2.3–2.5 with increasing distance from the pulsar. The softening can be attributed to the rapid synchrotron burn-off, which would explain the lack of X-ray emission from the older relic PWN. In addition to nonthermal PWN emission, we detected thermal emission from a hot plasma, which we attribute to the host supernova remnant. The radio PWN morphology and the proper motion of the pulsar suggest that the reverse shock passed through the pulsar’s vicinity and pushed the PWN to one side.

Degree-scale galactic radio emission at 122 MHz around the North Celestial Pole with LOFAR-AARTFAAC

Aims. Contamination from bright diffuse Galactic thermal and non-thermal radio emission poses crucial challenges in experiments aiming to measure the 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen from the cosmic dawn (CD) and Epoch of Reionisation (EoR). If not included in calibration, this diffuse emission can severely impact the analysis and signal extraction in 21-cm experiments. We examine large-scale diffuse Galactic emission at 122 MHz around the North Celestial Pole, using the Amsterdam-ASTRON Radio Transient Facility and Analysis Centre (AARTFAAC-) High Band Antenna (HBA) system. Methods. In this pilot project, we present the first-ever wide-field image produced with a single sub-band of the data recorded with the AARTFAAC-HBA system. We demonstrate two methods, multi-scale CLEAN and shapelet decomposition, to model the diffuse emission revealed in the image. We used angular power spectrum metrics to quantify different components of the emission and compared the performance of the two diffuse structure modelling approaches. Results. We observed that the point sources dominate the angular power spectrum (ℓ(ℓ + 1)Cℓ/2π≡Δ2(ℓ)) of the emission in the field on scales of ℓ ≳ 60 (≲3 degree). The angular power spectrum after subtraction of compact sources is flat within the 20 ≲ ℓ ≲ 200 range, suggesting that the residual power is dominated by the diffuse emission on scales of ℓ ≲ 200. The residual diffuse emission has a brightness temperature variance of Δℓ=1802 = (145.64 ± 13.61) K2 at 122 MHz on angular scales of 1 degree, and it is consistent with a power law following Cℓ ∝ ℓ−2.0 in the 20 ≲ ℓ ≲ 200 range. We also find that, in the current set-up, multi-scale CLEAN is suitable to model the compact and diffuse structures on a wide range of angular scales, whereas the shapelet decomposition method better models the large scales, which are of the order of a few degrees and wider.

Additional Evidence for a Pulsar Wind Nebula in the Heart of SN 1987A from Multiepoch X-Ray Data and MHD Modeling

Since the day of its explosion, supernova (SN) 1987A has been closely monitored to study its evolution and to detect its central compact relic. In fact, the formation of a neutron star is strongly supported by the detection of neutrinos from the SN. However, besides the detection in the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) data of a feature that is compatible with the emission arising from a protopulsar wind nebula (PWN), the only hint of the existence of such an elusive compact object is provided by the detection of hard emission in NuSTAR data up to ∼20 keV. We report on the simultaneous analysis of multiepoch observations of SN 1987A performed with Chandra, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR. We also compare the observations with a state-of-the-art three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of SN 1987A. A heavily absorbed power law, consistent with the emission from a PWN embedded in the heart of SN 1987A, is needed to properly describe the high-energy part of the observed spectra. The spectral parameters of the best-fit power law are in agreement with the previous estimate, and exclude diffusive shock acceleration as a possible mechanism responsible for the observed nonthermal emission. The information extracted from our analysis is used to infer the physical characteristics of the pulsar and the broadband emission from its nebula, in agreement with the ALMA data. Analysis of the synthetic spectra also shows that, in the near future, the main contribution to the Fe K emission line will originate in the outermost shocked ejecta of SN 1987A.

Evidence for γ-ray emission from the remnant of Kepler’s supernova based on deep H.E.S.S. observations

Observations with imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) have enhanced our knowledge of nearby supernova (SN) remnants with ages younger than 500 yr by establishing Cassiopeia A and the remnant of Tycho’s SN as very-high-energy (VHE) γ-ray sources. The remnant of Kepler’s SN, which is the product of the most recent naked-eye SN in our Galaxy, is comparable in age to the other two, but is significantly more distant. If the γ-ray luminosities of the remnants of Tycho’s and Kepler’s SNe are similar, then the latter is expected to be one of the faintest γ-ray sources within reach of the current generation IACT arrays. Here we report evidence at a statistical level of 4.6σ for a VHE signal from the remnant of Kepler’s SN based on deep observations by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) with an exposure of 152 h. The measured integral flux above an energy of 226 GeV is ∼0.3% of the flux of the Crab Nebula. The spectral energy distribution (SED) reveals a γ-ray emitting component connecting the VHE emission observed with H.E.S.S. to the emission observed at GeV energies with Fermi-LAT. The overall SED is similar to that of the remnant of Tycho’s SN, possibly indicating the same nonthermal emission processes acting in both these young remnants of thermonuclear SNe.

Modelling X-shaped radio galaxies: Dynamical and emission signatures from the Back-flow model

Context. Active galactic nuclei typically show the presence of radio jets ranging from sub-kiloparsec to megaparsec scales. Some of these radio galaxies show distortion in their jets, forming tailed or winged sources. X-shaped radio galaxies (XRGs) are a sub-class of winged sources, the formation mechanism of which is still unclear. Aims. The focus of this work is to understand hydro-dynamical back-flows and their role in dynamics and non-thermal emission signatures (in the presence of radiative losses and diffusive shock acceleration) during the initial phase of these galaxies. Methods. We performed relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic (RMHD) simulations of an under-dense jet travelling in a tri-axial ambient using a hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian framework to incorporate effects of micro-physical processes. Results. We demonstrate the dominant role played by pressure gradient in shaping XRGs in thermally dominated cases. We show that the prominence of the formed structure decreases as the jet deviates from the major axis of the ambient. The wing evolution is mainly governed by re-energised particles due to shocks that keep the structure active during the evolution time. The synthetic intensity maps of the radio galaxy show similarities with morphologies that are typically found in observed XRGs. This includes the cases with wider wings than the active lobes. The characteristic emission signatures in terms of its synchrotron spectra and the implication of equipartition condition in age estimation are also discussed here. Additionally, we show that age discrepancies can be attributed to the mixing of different aged particle populations. Furthermore, the effect of the viewing angle on the difference of spectral index (Δα) of the active lobes and the wings shows a large variation and degenerate behaviour. We demonstrate the role of diffusive shocks in the obtained variation and conclude that the Δα spread is not a dependable characteristic in determining the formation model of XRGs.

Evolution of thermal and non-thermal radio continuum emission on kpc scales – predictions for SKA

ABSTRACT Resolved maps of the thermal and non-thermal radio continuum (RC) emission of distant galaxies are a powerful tool for understanding the role of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the evolution of galaxies. We simulate the RC surface brightness of present-day star-forming galaxies in the past at 0.15 < z < 3, considering two cases of radio size evolution: (1) no evolution and (2) same evolution as in the optical. We aim to investigate the (a) structure of the thermal and non-thermal emission on kpc scales, (b) evolution of the thermal fraction and synchrotron spectrum at mid-radio frequencies (≃1–10 GHz), and (c) capability of the proposed SKA phase 1 MID-frequency (SKA1-MID) reference surveys in detecting the RC emitting structures. The synchrotron spectrum flattens with z causing curvature in the observed mid-radio SEDs of galaxies at higher z. The spectral index reported in recent observational studies agrees better with the no size evolution scenario. In this case, the mean thermal fraction observed at 1.4 GHz increases with redshift by more than 30 per cent from z = 0.15 to z = 2 because of the drop of the synchrotron emission at higher rest-frame frequencies. More massive galaxies have lower thermal fractions and experience a faster flattening of the non-thermal spectrum. The proposed SKA1-MID band 2 reference survey, unveils the ISM in M51- and NGC 6946-like galaxies (with ${\rm M_{\star }}\simeq 10^{10}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$) up to z = 3. This survey detects lower-mass galaxies like M33 (${\rm M_{\star }}\simeq 10^{9}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$) only at low redshifts z ≲ 0.5. For a proper separation of the RC emitting processes at the peak of star formation, it is vital to include band 1 into the SKA1-MID reference surveys.

Shocks and dust formation in nova V809 Cep

ABSTRACT The discovery that many classical novae produce detectable GeV γ-ray emission has raised the question of the role of shocks in nova eruptions. Here, we use radio observations of nova V809 Cep (nova Cep 2013) with the Jansky Very Large Array to show that it produced non-thermal emission indicative of particle acceleration in strong shocks for more than a month starting about 6 weeks into the eruption, quasi-simultaneous with the production of dust. Broadly speaking, the radio emission at late times – more than 6 months or so into the eruption – is consistent with thermal emission from $10^{-4}\, {\rm M}_\odot$ of freely expanding, 104 K ejecta. At 4.6 and 7.4 GHz, however, the radio light curves display an initial early-time peak 76 d after the discovery of the eruption in the optical (t0). The brightness temperature at 4.6 GHz on day 76 was greater than 105 K, an order of magnitude above what is expected for thermal emission. We argue that the brightness temperature is the result of synchrotron emission due to internal shocks within the ejecta. The evolution of the radio spectrum was consistent with synchrotron emission that peaked at high frequencies before low frequencies, suggesting that the synchrotron from the shock was initially subject to free–free absorption by optically thick ionized material in front of the shock. Dust formation began around day 37, and we suggest that internal shocks in the ejecta were established prior to dust formation and caused the nucleation of dust.

Radio spectra of protostellar jets: Thermal and non-thermal emission

ABSTRACT Protostellar jets and outflows are pointers of star-formation and serve as important sources of momentum and energy transfer to the interstellar medium. Radio emission from ionized jets have been detected towards a number of protostellar objects. In few cases, negative spectral indices and polarized emission have also been observed suggesting the presence of synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons. In this work, we develop a numerical model that incorporates both thermal free–free and non-thermal synchrotron emission mechanisms in the jet geometry. The flux densities include contribution from an inner thermal jet, and a combination of emission from thermal and non-thermal distributions along the edges and extremities, where the jet interacts with the interstellar medium. We also include the effect of varying ionization fraction laterally across the jet. An investigation of radio emission and spectra along the jet shows the dependence of the emission process and optical depth along the line of sight. We explore the effect of various parameters on the turnover frequencies and the radio spectral indices (between 10 MHz and 300 GHz) associated with them.

Non-thermal emission in hyper-velocity and semi-relativistic stars

Context.There is a population of runaway stars that move at extremely high speeds with respect to their surroundings. The fast motion and the stellar wind of these stars, plus the wind-medium interaction, can lead to particle acceleration and non-thermal radiation.Aims.We characterise the interaction between the winds of fast runaway stars and their environment, in particular to establish their potential as cosmic-ray accelerators and non-thermal emitters.Methods.We model the hydrodynamics of the interaction between the stellar wind and the surrounding material. We self-consistently calculate the injection and transport of relativistic particles in the bow shock using a multi-zone code, and compute their broadband emission from radio toγ-rays.Results.Both the forward and reverse shocks are favourable sites for particle acceleration, although the radiative efficiency of particles is low and therefore the expected fluxes are in general rather faint.Conclusions.We show that high-sensitivity observations in the radio band can be used to detect the non-thermal radiation associated with bow shocks from hyper-velocity and semi-relativistic stars. Hyper-velocity stars are expected to be modest sources of sub-TeV cosmic rays, accounting perhaps for ∼0.1% of that of galactic cosmic rays.