Wave-particle acceleration during supernova explosions

Abstract

We investigate particle acceleration during the early stages of a supernova explosion via a resonant interaction between electromagnetic waves and quantum waves associated with particles. For typical progenitor masses of $(8;12;20)\times M_s$, we find that this mechanism can accelerate protons to energies of up to $3\times 10^{14}$ eV. Interestingly, despite the continuously declining luminosity, the particle energy initially increases, reaches a maximum, and subsequently decreases, reflecting the characteristic behavior of the resonant acceleration mechanism.

6 pages, 2 figures