Topic
Shock wave
About: Shock wave is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 36184 publications have been published within this topic receiving 635848 citations. The topic is also known as: Shock waves & shockwave.
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TL;DR: In this article, a steady state, spherically symmetric, magnetohydrodynamic model of the Crab nebula is constructed, where a highly relativistic positronic positronic pulsar wind is terminated by a strong MHD shock that decelerates the flow and increases its pressure to match boundary conditions imposed by the recently discovered supernova remnant that surrounds the nebula.
Abstract: A steady state, spherically symmetric, magnetohydrodynamic model of the Crab nebula is constructed. A highly relativistic positronic pulsar wind is terminated by a strong MHD shock that decelerates the flow and increases its pressure to match boundary conditions imposed by the recently discovered supernova remnant that surrounds the nebula. If the magnetic luminosity of the pulsar wind upstream of the shock is about 0.3 percent of its particle luminosity, the pressure and velocity boundary conditions imposed by the remnant place the shock where it is inferred to be: near the outer boundary of an underluminous region observed to surround the pulsar. It is necessary to include the weak magnetization of the wind to satisfy the boundary conditions and to calculate the regular synchrotron radiation self-consistently.
927 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the relativistic two-stream instability can naturally generate strong magnetic fields with 10-5-10-1 of the equipartition energy density, in the collisionless shocks of gamma-ray burst (GRB) sources.
Abstract: We show that the relativistic two-stream instability can naturally generate strong magnetic fields with 10-5-10-1 of the equipartition energy density, in the collisionless shocks of gamma-ray burst (GRB) sources. The generated fields are parallel to the shock front and fluctuate on the very short scale of the plasma skin depth. The synchrotron radiation emitted from the limb-brightened source image is linearly polarized in the radial direction relative to the source center. Although the net polarization vanishes under circular symmetry, GRB sources should exhibit polarization scintillations as their radio afterglow radiation gets scattered by the Galactic interstellar medium. Detection of polarization scintillations could therefore test the above mechanism for magnetic field generation.
896 citations
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TL;DR: The proceedings of EXPLOMET 90, the International Conference on the Materials Effects of Shock-Wave and High-Strain-Rate Phenomena, held August 1990, in La Jolla, California, represent a global and up-to-date appraisal of this field as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: These proceedings of EXPLOMET 90, the International Conference on the Materials Effects of Shock-Wave and High-Strain-Rate Phenomena, held August 1990, in La Jolla, California, represent a global and up-to-date appraisal of this field. Contributions (more than 100) deal with high-strain-rate deforma
852 citations
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843 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a review of the current theoretical understanding of this process, from the basic ideas of how a shock energizes a few reactionless particles to the advanced nonlinear approaches treating the shock and accelerated particles as a symbiotic self-organizing system, is presented.
Abstract: Among the various acceleration mechanisms which have been suggested as responsible for the nonthermal particle spectra and associated radiation observed in many astrophysical and space physics environments, diffusive shock acceleration appears to be the most successful. We review the current theoretical understanding of this process, from the basic ideas of how a shock energizes a few reactionless particles to the advanced nonlinear approaches treating the shock and accelerated particles as a symbiotic self-organizing system. By means of direct solution of the nonlinear problem we set the limit to the test-particle approximation and demonstrate the fundamental role of nonlinearity in shocks of astrophysical size and lifetime. We study the bifurcation of this system, proceeding from the hydrodynamic to kinetic description under a realistic condition of Bohm diffusivity. We emphasize the importance of collective plasma phenomena for the global flow structure and acceleration efficiency by considering the injection process, an initial stage of acceleration and, the related aspects of the physics of collisionless shocks. We calculate the injection rate for different shock parameters and different species. This, together with differential acceleration resulting from nonlinear large-scale modification, determines the chemical composition of accelerated particles. The review concentrates on theoretical and analytical aspects but our strategic goal is to link the fundamental theoretical ideas with the rapidly growing wealth of observational data.
842 citations