On "box" models of shock acceleration and electron synchrotron spectra

Abstract

The recent detection of high energy gamma-rays coming from supernova remnants and active galactic nuclei has revived interest in the diffusive shock acceleration of electrons. In the present paper we examine the basis of the so-called ``box'' model for particle acceleration and present a more physical version of it. Using this we determine simple criteria for the conditions under which ``pile-ups'' can occur in shock accelerated electron spectra subject to synchrotron or inverse Compton losses (the latter in the Thompson limit). An extension to include nonlinear effects is proposed.

arXiv comment6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Cited by in corpus (1)

• The Acceleration of Charged Particles and Formation of Power-law Energy Spectra in Nonrelativistic Magnetic Reconnection