Journal ArticleDOI
Stability of relativistic transverse cold plasma waves Part 1. Circularly polarized waves
TLDR
In this paper, the stability against small perturbations of a certain class of nonlinear wave solutions of the equations that describe a cold unmagnetized plasma was studied. But the stability was not considered for the case of the transverse linearly polarized waves in an electron-positron plasma.Abstract:
This is part 2 of a paper concerned with the stability against small perturbations of a certain class of nonlinear wave solutions of the equations that describe a cold unmagnetized plasma. It refers to transverse linearly polarized waves in an electron-positron plasma. A numerical method, based on Floquet's theory of linear differential equations with periodic coefficients, is used to solve the perturbation equations and obtain the instability growth rates. All the three possible types of perturbations are discussed for a typical value of the (large) amplitude of the nonlinear wave: electrically longitudinal slightly unstable modes (with maximum growth rate γ approximately equal to 0·07ω 0 , where ω 0 is the frequency of the nonlinear wave); purely transverse moderately unstable modes (with γ ≃ 0·26ω 0 ); and highly unstable electrically transverse modes (with γ ≃ l·5ω 0 ).read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
On the magnetization and origin of the millisecond pulsar 1937 + 214
TL;DR: In this paper, it is suggested that the neutron star was born as a weakly magnetized, rapidly rotating pulsar, and now is 105-106 yr old, which is consistent with the theory of pulsar magnetospheres.
Journal ArticleDOI
On the Stability of a Magnetized Plasma in a Large Amplitude Circularly Polarized Wave
TL;DR: In this article, a general dispersion relation for a plasma in a helical magnetic field of arbitrarily large amplitude was derived and compared with previous results for large amplitude waves emitted by pulsars as well as for the free electron laser.
Nonlinear waves in Poynting-flux dominated outflows
Abstract: Rotating, compact objects power some of the most spectacular phenomena in astrophysics, e.g., gamma-ray bursts, active galactic nuclei and pulsar winds. The energy is carried by Poynting flux, and the system is usually modelled using relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). However, in the relatively low density medium expected around some of these objects, the MHD approximation breaks down, allowing new, large-amplitude waves to propagate. We discuss the role of these waves in two astrophysical contexts: In blazar jets, we show that a magnetic shear, launched together with a plasma from the black hole magnetosphere, begins to accelerate particles at a large distance from its source. The resulting non-thermal emission can, nevertheless, be modulated on very short timescales, which can explain the rapid variability of the TeV gamma-ray flux observed from some blazars. In pulsar winds, we analyze the radial propagation of superluminal modes, including their damping by radiation reaction and by interaction with an external photon field. We discuss their effect on the structure of the pulsar wind termination shock, presenting new solutions in which the non-linear wave is asymptotically matched to the constant pressure surroundings. The observational implications of these solutions are discussed for both isolated pulsars, and pulsars in binary systems.
Journal ArticleDOI
Stability of strong electromagnetic waves in overdense plasmas
TL;DR: In this paper, the stability against small perturbations of a class of exact wave solutions of the equations that describe an unmagnetized relativistic cold electron plasma was considered. And the main feature of these nonlinear waves is a transverse circularly polarized electric field with periodic amplitude modulation in the longitudinal direction.
Journal ArticleDOI
The stability of strong waves and its implications for pulsar wind shocks
Iwona Mochol,John G. Kirk +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the stability of strong waves and its implications for the properties of shocks in pulsar wind and its surroundings, and show that strong waves can mediate a shock transition between a pulsar and its surrounding, playing the role of an extended precursor.
References
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Book
Theory of Ordinary Differential Equations
TL;DR: The prerequisite for the study of this book is a knowledge of matrices and the essentials of functions of a complex variable as discussed by the authors, which is a useful text in the application of differential equations as well as for the pure mathematician.
The spectral theory of periodic differential equations
TL;DR: The Spectral Theory of Differential Differential Equations as discussed by the authors is the first connected account of a body of results relating in particular to eigenvalue and spectral theory, which has been developed in the Mathematical Journals over the past twenty years.