Wind Termination Shock Research Articles

Gamma-Ray Burst Interaction with the Circumburst Medium: The CBM Phase Following the Prompt Phase in GRBs

Progenitor stars of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) could be surrounded by a significant and complex nebula structure lying at a parsec-scale distance. After the initial release of energy from the GRB jet, the jet will interact with this nebula environment. We show here that for a large, plausible parameter space region, the interaction between the jet blast wave and the wind termination (reverse) shock is expected to be weak, and may be associated with a precursor emission. As the jet blast wave encounters the contact discontinuity separating the shocked wind and the shocked interstellar medium, we find that a bright flash of synchrotron emission from the newly formed reverse shock is produced. This flash is expected to be observed at around ∼100 s after the initial explosion and precursor. Such a delayed emission thus constitutes a circumburst medium (CBM) phase in a GRB, having a physically distinct origin from the preceding prompt phase and the succeeding afterglow phase. The CBM phase emission may thus provide a natural explanation for bursts observed to have a precursor followed by an intense, synchrotron-dominated main episode that is found in a substantial minority, ∼10% of GRBs. A correct identification of the emission phase is thus required to infer the properties of the flow and of the immediate environment around GRB progenitors.

The Effects of Turbulence on Heliosheath Ions and Implications for Energetic Neutral Atoms

The distribution of ions in the heliosheath—the region between the heliospheric termination shock and the heliopause—is important for understanding remote observations of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs). The ion distributions were estimated previously based on hybrid simulations of the heating and evolution of solar wind and interstellar pickup ions across the solar wind termination shock, but these estimates only provide the distributions near the shock. In this work, we use self-consistent hybrid kinetic simulations to investigate the effects of turbulence on ion distributions in the heliosheath. The simulations are compared against Voyager observations, constraining the feasible amplitude and compressibility of turbulence. We find that the heating due to turbulent dissipation can lead to a significant increase in the temperature of thermal solar wind ions. Both turbulent velocity fluctuations and the heating of solar wind ions increase the charge-exchange source for ENAs at low energies (around 100 eV), where current ENA models underpredict observations by more than an order of magnitude. However, the effects of turbulence are likely not strong enough to fully explain these discrepancies.

Cosmic-ray acceleration in core-collapse supernova remnants with the wind termination shock

Cosmic-ray acceleration in core-collapse supernova remnants with the wind termination shock

Hydrodynamic simulation of Cygnus OB2: the absence of a cluster wind termination shock

ABSTRACT We perform a large-scale hydrodynamic simulation of a massive star cluster whose stellar population mimics that of the Cygnus OB2 association. The main-sequence stars are first simulated during 1.6 Myr, until a quasi-stationary state is reached. At this time, the three Wolf–Rayet stars observed in Cygnus OB2 are added to the simulation, which continues to 2 Myr. Using a high-resolution grid in the centre of the domain, we can resolve the most massive stars individually, which allows us to probe the kinetic structures at small (parsec) scales. We find that, although the cluster excavates a spherical ‘superbubble’ cavity, the stellar population is too loosely distributed to blow a large-scale cluster wind termination shock, and that collective effects from wind–wind interactions are much less efficient than usually assumed. This challenges our understanding of the ultra-high energy emission observed from the region.

A Dynamical Model for IRAS 00500+6713: The Remnant of a Type Iax Supernova SN 1181 Hosting a Double Degenerate Merger Product WD J005311

IRAS 00500+6713 is a hypothesized remnant of a Type Iax supernova SN 1181. Multiwavelength observations have revealed its complicated morphology; a dusty infrared ring is sandwiched by the inner and outer X-ray nebulae. We analyze the archival X-ray data taken by XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray Observatory to constrain the angular radius, mass, and metal abundance of the X-ray nebulae, and construct a theoretical model describing the dynamical evolution of IRAS 00500+6713, including the effects of the interaction between the SN ejecta and the intense wind enriched with carbon-burning ashes from the central white dwarf (WD) J005311. We show that the inner X-ray nebula corresponds to the wind termination shock while the outer X-ray nebula to the shocked interface between the SN ejecta and the interstellar matter. The observed X-ray properties can be explained by our model with an ejecta kinetic energy of E ej = (0.77–1.1) × 1048 erg, an ejecta mass of M ej = 0.18–0.53 M ⊙, if the currently observed wind from WD J005311 started to blow t w ≳ 810 yr after the explosion, i.e., approximately after 1990 CE. The inferred SN properties are compatible with those of Type Iax SNe and the timing of the wind launch may correspond to the Kelvin–Helmholtz contraction of the oxygen–neon core of WD J005311 that triggered a surface carbon burning. Our analysis supports that IRAS 00500+6713 is the remnant of SN Iax 1181 produced by a double degenerate merger of oxygen–neon and carbon–oxygen WDs, and WD J005311 is the surviving merger product.

Spectrum and extension of the inverse-Compton emission of the Crab Nebula from a combined Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. analysis

The Crab Nebula is a unique laboratory for studying the acceleration of electrons and positrons through their non-thermal radiation. Observations of very-high-energy γ rays from the Crab Nebula have provided important constraints for modelling its broadband emission. We present the first fully self-consistent analysis of the Crab Nebula’s γ-ray emission between 1 GeV and ∼100 TeV, that is, over five orders of magnitude in energy. Using the open-source software package GAMMAPY, we combined 11.4 yr of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope and 80 h of High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) data at the event level and provide a measurement of the spatial extension of the nebula and its energy spectrum. We find evidence for a shrinking of the nebula with increasing γ-ray energy. Furthermore, we fitted several phenomenological models to the measured data, finding that none of them can fully describe the spatial extension and the spectral energy distribution at the same time. Especially the extension measured at TeV energies appears too large when compared to the X-ray emission. Our measurements probe the structure of the magnetic field between the pulsar wind termination shock and the dust torus, and we conclude that the magnetic field strength decreases with increasing distance from the pulsar. We complement our study with a careful assessment of systematic uncertainties.

On the anomalous cosmic-ray helium spectra during consecutive solar minima

The anomalous cosmic rays have been studied for about fifty years. Through theoretical and numerical models, we can learn how and where they are originating. When Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft observed the solar wind termination shock, the main efforts were focused on try to explain the source spectrum and the acceleration mechanism. Nevertheless, there is another feature of the spectrum that need a better understanding, and it is related with the peak intensity in the energy spectrum, that occurred at different energies in consecutive solar minima. Qualitatively, it can be explained in terms of drifts and its relation with the acceleration process. In the past some works have been partially successful to explain the observations. In this paper we do another effort to explain the shift in the peak intensity of anomalous cosmic ray energy spectrum. We use a numerical model which includes diffusive shock acceleration, and the effects of the heliosheath. The present work analyzes the role played by different factors in the energy shift of the peak intensity between two successive minima, in particular the location of the region of observations with respect to the shock, the heliospheric distance, the effects of turbulence on the reduction of weak scattering drifts, as well as a possible latitudinal dependence in the ion injection on the shock.

The galactic bubbles of starburst galaxies

Context. The galactic winds of starburst galaxies (SBGs) give rise to remarkable structures on kiloparsec scales. However, the evolution and shape of these giant wind bubbles, as well as the properties of the shocks they develop, are not yet fully understood. Aims. We aim to understand what shapes the galactic winds of SBGs, with a particular focus on the role of large-scale magnetic fields in the dynamical evolution of galactic wind-inflated bubbles. In addition, we aim to explore where the conditions for efficient particle acceleration are met in these systems. Methods. We performed magnetohydrodynamic simulations with the AMRVAC code (Adaptive Mesh Refinement Versatile Advection Code) with various configurations of the galactic medium density profile and magnetization. Results. We observe that the large-scale magnetic field, in which galactic winds expand, can impact the structure and evolution of inflated bubbles. However, the typical structures observed in starburst galaxies, such as M82, cannot be solely explained by the magnetic field structures that have been considered. This highlights the importance of other factors, such as the galactic disk, in shaping the galactic bubble. Furthermore, in all the magnetized cases we investigated, the forward wave resulting from the expanding bubbles only results in compression waves, whereas the wind termination shock features high Mach numbers, making it a promising site for diffusive shock acceleration up to ∼102 PeV. The synthetic X-ray images generated from our models reveal an envelope surrounding the bubbles that extends up to 2 kpc, which could correspond to the polarized emission observed from planar geometry in M82, as well as a large structure inside the bubble corresponding to the shocked galactic wind. Additionally, our findings indicate that, as observed with the SOFIA instrument, a large ordered magnetic field is associated with the free galactic wind, while a more turbulent magnetic field is present in the shocked region.

Between the Cosmic-Ray “Knee” and the “Ankle”: Contribution from Star Clusters

We show that massive, young star clusters may be possible candidates that can accelerate Galactic cosmic rays (CRs) in the range of 107–109 GeV (between the “knee” and “ankle”). Various plausible scenarios, such as acceleration at the wind termination shock and supernova shocks inside these young star clusters, have been proposed, since it is difficult to accelerate particles up to the 107–109 GeV range in the standard paradigm of CR acceleration in supernova remnants. We consider a model for the production of different nuclei in CRs from massive stellar winds using the observed distribution of young star clusters in the Galactic plane. We present a detailed calculation of CR transport in the Galaxy, taking into account the effect of diffusion, interaction losses during propagation, and particle reacceleration by old supernova remnants to determine the all-particle CR spectrum. Using the maximum energy estimate from the Hillas criterion, we argue that a young, massive star cluster can accelerate protons up to a few tens of PeV. Upon comparison with the observed data, our model requires a CR source spectrum with an exponential cutoff of 5 × 107 Z GeV (50 Z PeV) from these clusters, together with a CR injection fraction of ∼5% of the wind kinetic energy. We discuss the possibility of achieving these requirements in star clusters, as well as the associated uncertainties, in the context of considering star clusters as the natural accelerator of the “second component” of Galactic CRs.

Numerical modeling of time dependent Diffusive Shock Acceleration

Motivated by cosmic ray (CR) re-acceleration at a potential Galactic Wind Termination Shock (GWTS), we present a numerical model for time-dependent Diffusive Shock Acceleration (DSA). We use the stochastic differential equation solver (DiffusionSDE) of the cosmic ray propagation framework CRPropa3.2 with two modifications: An importance sampling module is introduced to improve statistics at high energies in order to keep the simulation time short. An adaptive time step is implemented in the DiffusionSDE module. This ensures to efficiently meet constraints on the time and diffusion step, which is crucial to obtain the correct shock spectra. The time evolution of the spectrum at a one-dimensional planar shock is verified against the solution obtained by the grid-based solver VLUGR3 for both energy-independent and energy-dependent diffusion. We show that the injection of pre-accelerated particles can lead to a broken power law spectrum in momentum if the incoming spectrum of CRs is harder than the re-accelerated spectrum. If the injected spectrum is steeper, the shock spectrum dominates at all energies. We finally apply the developed model to the GWTS by considering a spherically symmetric shock, a spiral Galactic magnetic field, and anisotropic diffusion. The time-dependent spectrum at the shock is modeled as a basis for further studies.

A Comparison of Particle-in-cell and Hybrid Simulations of the Heliospheric Termination Shock

We compare hybrid (kinetic proton, fluid electron) and particle-in-cell (kinetic proton, kinetic electron) simulations of the solar wind termination shock with parameters similar to those observed by Voyager 2 during its crossing. The steady-state results show excellent agreement between the downstream variations in the density, plasma velocity, and magnetic field. The quasi-perpendicular shock accelerates interstellar pickup ions to a maximum energy limited by the size of the computational domain, with somewhat higher fluxes and maximal energies observed in the particle-in-cell simulation, likely due to differences in the cross-shock electric field arising from electron kinetic-scale effects. The higher fluxes may help address recent discrepancies noted between observations and large-scale hybrid simulations.

Diffusive shock acceleration at EeV and associated multimessenger flux from ultra-fast outflows driven by active galactic nuclei

ABSTRACT Active galactic nuclei (AGN) can launch and sustain powerful winds featuring mildly relativistic velocity and wide opening angle. Such winds, known as ultra-fast outflows (UFOs), can develop a bubble structure characterized by a forward shock expanding in the host galaxy and a wind termination shock separating the fast, cool wind from the hot shocked wind. In this work, we explore whether diffusive shock acceleration can take place efficiently at the wind termination shock of UFOs. We calculate the spectrum of accelerated particles and find that protons can be energized up to the EeV range promoting UFOs to promising candidates for accelerating ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). We also compute the associated gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes and compare them with available data in the literature. We observe that high-energy (HE) neutrinos are efficiently produced up to hundreds of PeV while the associated gamma rays could be efficiently absorbed beyond a few tens of GeV by the optical-ultraviolet AGN photon field. By assuming a typical source density of non-jetted AGN, we expect that UFOs could play a dominant role as diffuse sources of UHECRs and HE neutrinos. We finally apply our model to the recently observed NGC1068 and we find out that under specific parametric conditions an obscured UFO could provide a sizeable contribution to the observed gamma-ray flux while only contributing up to ∼10 per cent to the associated neutrino flux.

Reacceleration of Galactic Cosmic Rays beyond the Knee at the Termination Shock of a Cosmic-Ray-driven Galactic Wind

The origin of cosmic rays (CRs) above the knee in the spectrum is an unsolved problem. We present a wind model in which interstellar gas flows along a nonrotating, expanding flux tube with a changing speed and cross-sectional area. CRs from Galactic sources, such as supernova remnants, which are coupled to the plasma via Alfvén waves, provide the main pressure source for driving this outflow. These CRs are then subject to diffusive shock reacceleration at the Galactic wind termination shock, which is located at a distance ∼200 kpc. Some of the highest-energy reaccelerated particles propagate upstream against the wind and can contribute to the petaelectronvolt to exaelectronvolt range of the spectrum. We analyze the conditions under which efficient reacceleration can occur and find that rigidities ∼10–40 PV can be obtained and that the termination shock may account for between 10% and 50% of the proton spectrum measured in IceCube/IceTop experiment. In our model, the termination shock is unable to fully explain the CR spectrum in the petaelectronvolt to exaelectronvolt range. The highest-energy particles that escape downstream from our termination shock, and similar shocks surrounding most galaxies, can be further accelerated by intergalactic shock fronts.

Understanding the TeV γ-ray emission surrounding the young massive star cluster Westerlund 1

Context. Young massive star clusters (YMCs) have increasingly become the focus of discussions on the origin of galactic cosmic rays (CRs). The proposition that CRs are accelerated inside superbubbles (SBs) blown by the strong winds of these clusters avoids issues faced by the standard paradigm of acceleration at supernova remnant shocks. Aims. We provide an interpretation of the latest TeV γ-ray observations of the region around the YMC Westerlund 1 taken with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in terms of diffusive shock acceleration at the cluster wind termination shock, taking the spectrum and morphology of the emission into account. As Westerlund 1 is a prototypical example of a YMC, this study is relevant to the general question about the role of YMCs for the Galactic CR population. Methods. We generated model γ-ray spectra, characterised particle propagation inside the SB based on the advection, diffusion, and cooling timescales, and constrained key parameters of the system. We considered hadronic emission from proton-proton interaction and subsequent pion decay and leptonic emission from inverse Compton scattering on all relevant photon fields, including the cosmic microwave background, diffuse and dust-scattered starlight, and the photon field of Westerlund 1 itself. The effect of the magnetic field on cooling and propagation is discussed. Klein-Nishina effects are found to be important in determining the spectral evolution of the electron population. Results. A leptonic origin of the bulk of the observed γ-rays is preferable. The model is energetically plausible, consistent with the presence of a strong shock, and allows for the observed energy-independent morphology. The hadronic model faces two main issues: confinement of particles to the emission region, and an unrealistic energy requirement.

The Modulation of Anomalous and Galactic Cosmic-Ray Oxygen over Successive Solar Cycle Minima

Both the recent 2009 and 2020 solar minima were classified as unusually quiet and characterized with unusually high galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) levels. However, unlike the trends from previous decades, in which anomalous cosmic-ray (ACR) and GCR levels strongly agreed, the ACR intensities did not reach such high, record-setting levels. This discrepancy between the behavior of GCRs and ACRs is investigated in this work by simulating the acceleration and transport of GCR and ACR oxygen under different transport conditions. After using recent observations to constrain any remaining free parameters present in the model, we show that less turbulent conditions are characterized by higher GCR fluxes and lower ACR fluxes, due to less efficient ACR acceleration at the solar wind termination shock. We offer this as an explanation for the ACR/GCR discrepancy observed during 2009 and 2020, when compared to previous solar cycles.

Massive star cluster origin for the galactic cosmic ray population at very-high energies

ABSTRACT We demonstrate that supernova remnant (SNR) shocks embedded within massive star clusters can reproduce both the cosmic-ray proton and all-particle spectra measured in the vicinity of the Earth up to hundreds of peta-electronvolts (PeV). We model two classes of massive star clusters. The first population are ‘loose clusters’ that do not power a collective wind termination shock. SNR shocks then expand in a low-density and weakly magnetized medium, and this population mainly contributes up to the ‘knee’ of the CR spectrum around 1 PeV. The second population are young compact clusters, which are powerful and compact enough to sustain a collective wind outflow. SNR shocks then expand from the cluster into the strongly magnetized wind and accelerate nuclei up to ultra-high energies. This population, representing only about 15 per cent of all Galactic massive star clusters, nevertheless dominates the spectrum between ∼1 and 100 PeV. While these two components alone can reproduce the shape of the CR spectrum up to hundreds of PeV, adding a light subankle extragalactic component motivated by composition and anisotropy measurements, allows to reproduce the spectrum up to the highest energies. Fitting parameters are systematically linked to physical variables whose values are in line with theoretical expectations.

Considerations of A Two-Fluid Heliospheric Plasma Dynamics Under Dominant Electron Pressure

Electrons in plasma physics mostly are the underestimated species, since usually they only have to guarantee electric quasineutrality, but don’t count in terms of mass-, momentum-, and energy flows. This is different in space plasmas like the heliospheric plasma, especially the plasma downstream of the solar wind termination shock. Here it has become evident more recently that electrons dominate the plasma pressure and, connected with that, the plasma energy flow. Under these conditions a two-fluid plasma theory is needed to adequately describe fields and flows. We first here develop a pure two-fluid thermodynamics of such two-fluid plasmas and then study the actual situation in case of the heliospheric plasma that the electron pressure is dominating over the proton pressure. Under such auspices the electron pressure determines the mass- and momentum flows of the plasma and in fact decreases with the decrease of bulk velocity of the flow

Inside the core of a young massive star cluster: 3D MHD simulations

ABSTRACT Young massive star clusters inhabit regions of star formation and play an essential role in the galactic evolution. They are sources of both thermal and non-thermal radiation, and are effective cosmic ray accelerators. We present the 3D magnetohydrodynamic modelling of the plasma flows in a young compact cluster at the evolutionary stage comprising multiple interacting supersonic winds of massive OB and WR stars. The modelling allows studying the partitioning of the mechanical energy injected by the winds between the bulk motions, thermal heating, and magnetic fields. Cluster-scale magnetic fields reaching the magnitudes of ∼300 $\mu$G show the filamentary structures spreading throughout the cluster core. The filaments with the high magnetic fields are produced by the Axford–Cranfill-type effect in the downstream of the wind termination shocks, which is amplified by a compression of the fields with the hot plasma thermal pressure in the central part of the cluster core. The hot (∼a few keV) plasma is heated at the termination shocks of the stellar winds and compressed in the colliding post-shock flows. We also discuss a possible role of the thermal conduction effects on the plasma flow, and analyse temperature maps in the cluster core and the diffuse thermal X-ray emission spectra. The presence of high cluster-scale magnetic fields supports the possibility of high-energy cosmic ray acceleration in clusters at the given evolutionary stage.

Detection of Diffuse γ-Ray Emission toward a Massive Star-forming Region Hosting Wolf–Rayet Stars

Isotopic and elemental abundances seen in Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) imply that ∼20% of the cosmic-ray (CR) nuclei are probably synthesized by massive Wolf–Rayet (W-R) stars. Massive star clusters hosting W-R- and OB-type stars have been proposed as potential GCR accelerators for decades, in particular via diffusive shock acceleration at wind termination shocks. Here we report the analysis of Fermi Large Area Telescope data toward the direction of Masgomas-6a, a young massive star cluster candidate hosting two W-R stars. We detect an extended γ-ray source with a test statistic = 183 in the vicinity of Masgomas-6a, spatially coincident with two unassociated Fermi 4FGL sources. We also present the CO observational results of molecular clouds in this region, using the data from the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting project. The γ-ray emission intensity correlates well with the distribution of molecular gas at the distance of Masgomas-6a, indicating that these γ-rays may be produced by CRs accelerated by massive stars in Masgomas-6a. At the distance of 3.9 kpc of Masgomas-6a, the luminosity of the extended source is (1.81 ± 0.02) × 1035 erg s−1. With a kinetic luminosity of ∼1037 erg s−1 in the stellar winds, the W-R stars are capable of powering the γ-ray emission via neutral pion decay resulted from CR proton–proton interactions. The size of the GeV source and the energetic requirement suggests a CR diffusion coefficient smaller than that in the Galactic interstellar medium, indicating a strong suppression of CR diffusion in the molecular cloud.

Can superbubbles accelerate ultrahigh energy protons?

ABSTRACT We critically assess limits on the maximum energy of protons accelerated within superbubbles around massive stellar clusters, considering a number of different scenarios. In particular, we derive under which circumstances acceleration of protons above peta-electronvolt (PeV) energies can be expected. While the external forward shock of the superbubble may account for acceleration of particles up to 100 TeV, internal primary shocks such as supernova remnants expanding in the low density medium or the collective wind termination shock which forms around a young compact cluster provide more favourable channels to accelerate protons up to 1 PeV, and possibly beyond. Under reasonable conditions, clustered supernovae launching powerful shocks into the magnetized wind of a young and compact massive star cluster are found to be the most promising systems to accelerate protons above 10 PeV. On the other hand, stochastic re-acceleration in the strongly turbulent plasma is found to be much less effective than claimed in previous works, with a maximum proton energy of at most a few hundred TeV.