Electron acceleration at pulsar wind termination shocks

Abstract

We study the acceleration of electrons and positrons at an electromagnetically modified, ultra-relativistic shock in the context of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). We simulate the outflow produced by an obliquely rotating pulsar in proximity of its termination shock with a two-fluid code which uses a magnetic shear wave to mimic the properties of the wind. We integrate electron trajectories in the test-particle limit in the resulting background electromagnetic fields to analyse the injection mechanism. We find that the shock-precursor structure energizes and reflects a sizeable fraction of particles, which becomes available for further acceleration. We investigate the subsequent first-order Fermi process sustained by small-scale magnetic fluctuations with a Monte Carlo code. We find that the acceleration proceeds in two distinct regimes: when the gyro-radius $r_{\text{g}}$ exceeds the wavelength of the shear $\lambda$, the process is remarkably similar to first-order Fermi acceleration at relativistic, parallel shocks. This regime corresponds to a low density wind which allows the propagation of superluminal waves. When $r_{\text{g}}<\lambda$, which corresponds to the scenario of driven reconnection, the spectrum is softer.

11 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

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• An extreme particle accelerator powered by pulsar PSR J1849-0001