Acceleration of relativistic electrons by turbulent Alfén wave in radio jets
Abstract
We solve numerically the equation that describes the interaction between charged particles and Alfvén turbulence including synchrotron radiation of the relativistic electrons. It is found that the electrons can be accelerated to a Lorentz factor γ ~ 106 and to form a power-law distribution with index s ≈ 1, which is smaller than the observed value. The acceleration timescale is about 1012-1014 s, which is shorter than the lifetime of radio hotspots of about 107 yr. The energy spectrum index is almost independent of the Alfvén wave spectrum and particle energy loss. The latter affects the upper limit of the acceleration significantly.
- Publication:
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Chinese Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- February 1996
- Bibcode:
- 1996ChA&A..20..380M