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Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) constitute a significant part of the energy budget of our Galaxy, and the study of their accelerators is of high importance in modern astrophysics. Their main sources are likely supernova remnants (SNRs). These objects are capable to convert a part of their mechanical energy into accelerated charged particles. However, even though the mechanical energy reservoir of SNRs is promising, a conversion rate into particle energy of 10 to 20% is necessary to feed the population of GCRs. Such an efficiency is however not guaranteed. Complementary sources deserve thus to be investigated. This communication aims to address the question of the contribution to the acceleration of GCRs by pre-supernova massive stars in binary or higher multiplicity systems, Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, Published in the Proceedings of the 3rd BINA Workshop on the Scientific Potential of the Indo-Belgian Cooperation

We model the currently available $\gamma$-ray data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope on Cyg X-3. Thanks to its very strong $\gamma$-ray activity during 2018--2021, the data quality has significantly improved. We study the strong orbital modulation of the $\gamma$-rays observed during at high $\gamma$-ray fluxes. The modulation, as found earlier, is well modeled by anisotropic Compton scattering of the donor blackbody emission by relativistic electrons in a jet strongly misaligned with respect to the orbital axis. We confirm that this model fits well both the average $\gamma$-ray modulation light curve and the spectrum. However, we find that if the jet is aligned with the spin axis of a rotating black hole, it would undergo geodetic precession with the period of $\sim$50 years. However, its presence is ruled out by both the $\gamma$-ray and radio data. Therefore, we consider an alternative model in which the average jet direction jet is aligned, but it is bent to outside the orbit owing to the thrust of the donor stellar wind, and thus precesses at the orbital period. The $\gamma$-ray modulation appears then owing to the variable Doppler boosting of synchrotron self-Compton jet emission. The model also fits well the data. However, the fitted bending angle is much larger than the theoretical one based on the binary and wind parameters as currently known. Thus, both models disagree with important aspects of our current theoretical understanding of the system. We discuss possible ways to find the correct model., Comment: ApJ, in press

We aim to interpret the radio emission of stellar bow shocks and assess under which conditions it could be either thermal or non-thermal, and how to use the observational data to infer their physical properties. We used an extended non-thermal emission model for stellar bow shocks for which we incorporated a consistent calculation of the thermal emission from the forward shock. We fitted this model to the available radio data, including largely unexplored data at low frequencies. In addition, we used a simplified one-zone model to estimate the gamma-ray emission from particles escaping the bow shocks. We can only explain the radio data from (BD+43{\deg}3654 and BD+60{\deg}2522) assuming a hard electron energy distribution below $\sim$1 GeV, a high efficiency of conversion of (shocked) wind kinetic power into relativistic electrons, and a relatively high magnetic-to-thermal pressure ratio. In the other systems, the interpretation of the observed flux density is ambiguous, although a non-thermal scenario is also favoured. We also show how complementary observations at other frequencies can allow us to place stronger constraints in the model. We also estimated the gamma-ray fluxes from the HII regions around the bow shocks of BD+43{\deg}3654 and BD+60{\deg}2522, and obtained luminosities at GeV energies of $\sim 10^{33}$~erg\,s$^{-1}$ and $10^{32}$~erg\,s$^{-1}$, respectively. Stellar bow shocks can potentially be very efficient particle accelerators. This work provides multi-wavelength predictions of their emission and demonstrates the key role of low-frequency radio observations in unveiling particle acceleration processes. The prospects of detections with next-generation observatories such as SKA and ngVLA are promising. Finally, BD+43{\deg}3654 may be detected in GeV in the near future, while bow shocks in general may turn out to be non-negligible sources of low-energy cosmic rays., Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Section 2 of Astronomy and Astrophysics: Astrophysical processes

Jets of active galactic nuclei are potential accelerators of ultra high-energy cosmic rays. Supernovae can occur inside these jets and contribute to cosmic ray acceleration, particularly of heavy nuclei, but that contribution has been hardly investigated so far. We carried out a first dedicated exploration of the role of supernovae inside extragalactic jets in the production of ultra high-energy cosmic rays. We characterized the energy budget of supernova-jet interactions, and the maximum possible energies of the particles accelerated in those events, likely dominated by heavy nuclei. This allowed us to assess whether these interactions can be potential acceleration sites of ultra high-energy cosmic rays, or at least of their seeds. For that, we estimated the cosmic ray luminosity for different galaxy types, and compared the injection rate of cosmic ray seeds into the jet with that due to galactic cosmic ray entrainment. Since the supernova is fueled for a long time by the luminosity of the jet, the energy of a supernova-jet interaction can be several orders of magnitude greater than that of an isolated supernova. Thus, despite the low rate of supernovae expected to occur in the jet, they could still provide more seeds for accelerating ultra high-energy particles than cosmic ray entrainment from the host galaxy. Moreover, these interactions can create sufficiently efficient accelerators to be a source of cosmic rays with energies $\gtrsim 10$~EeV. Supernova-jet interactions can contribute significantly to the production of ultra high-energy cosmic rays, either directly by accelerating these particles themselves or indirectly by providing pre-accelerated seeds., Comment: 4 pages, Letter accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics (in press)

We report on the presence of very rapid hard X-ray variability in the $\gamma$-ray binary LS I +61 303. The results were obtained by analysing NuSTAR data, which show two achromatic strong flares on ks time-scales before apastron. The Swift-BAT orbital X-ray light curve is also presented, and the NuSTAR data are put in the context of the system orbit. The spectrum and estimated physical conditions of the emitting region indicate that the radiation is synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons, likely produced in a shocked pulsar wind. The achromaticity suggests that losses are dominated by escape or adiabatic cooling in a relativistic flow, and the overall behaviour in hard X-rays can be explained by abrupt changes in the size of the emitting region and/or its motion relative to the line of sight, with Doppler boosting potentially being a prominent effect. The rapid changes of the emitter could be the result of different situations such as quick changes in the intra-binary shock, variations in the re-accelerated shocked pulsar wind outside the binary, or strong fluctuations in the location and size of the Coriolis shock region. Although future multi-wavelength observations are needed to further constrain the physical properties of the high-energy emitter, this work already provides important insight into the complex dynamics and radiation processes in LS I +61-303., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Gamma-ray binary systems, a subclass of high-mass X-ray binaries, show non-thermal emissions from radio to TeV. While efficient electron acceleration is considered to take place in them, the nature of the acceleration mechanism and the physical environments in these systems have been a long-standing question. In this work, we report on long-term recurrent patterns in the short-term variability of the soft X-ray emission of LS 5039, one of the brightest gamma-ray binary systems. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) observed LS 5039 four times from 2018 to 2021. By comparing them with the previous Suzaku and NuSTAR long-exposure observations, we studied the long-term evolution of the orbital light curve in the soft X-ray band. Although the observations by NICER and Suzaku are separated by $\sim$14 years, i.e., more than 10^3 orbits, the orbital light curves show remarkable consistency after calculating their running averages with a window width 70 ks. Furthermore, all of the light curves show short-term variability with a time scale of $\sim$10 ks. Since the column density did not vary when the flux changed abruptly, such a short-term variability seems to be an intrinsic feature of the X-ray emission. We propose that the short-term variability is caused by clumps (or inhomogeneities) of the companion star wind impacting the X-ray production site. The observed time scale matches well with the lifetime of the clumps interacting with the pulsar wind and the dynamical time scale of the relativistic intrabinary shock in the pulsar wind scenario., Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Should Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) exist in nature, they would inevitably accrete baryonic matter in their vicinity. In turn, the consequent emission of high-energy radiation could affect the thermal history of the universe to an extent that can be probed with a number of cosmological observables such as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies. However, our understanding of the accretion and radiation emission processes in the context of PBHs is still in its infancy, and very large theoretical uncertainties affect the resulting constraints on the PBH abundance. Building on state-of-the-art literature, in this work we take a step towards the development of a more realistic picture of PBH accretion by accounting for the contribution of outflows. Specifically, we derive CMB-driven constraints on the PBH abundance for various accretion geometries, ionization models and mass distributions in absence and in presence of mechanical feedback and non-thermal emissions due to the outflows. As a result, we show that the presence of such outflows introduces an additional layer of uncertainty that needs to be taken into account when quoting cosmological constraints on the PBH abundance, with important consequences in particular in the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observational window., Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures

Binary systems that host a massive star and a non-accreting pulsar can be powerful non-thermal emitters. The relativistic pulsar wind and the non-relativistic stellar outflows interact along the orbit, producing ultrarelativistic particles that radiate from radio to gamma rays. To properly characterize the physics of these sources, and better understand their emission and impact on the environment, careful modelling of the outflow interactions, spanning a broad range of spatial and temporal scales, is needed. Full 3-dimensional approaches are very computationally expensive, but simpler approximate approaches, while still realistic at the semi-quantitative level, are available. We present here the results of calculations done with a quasi 3-dimensional scheme to compute the evolution of the interacting flows in a region spanning in size up to a thousand times the size of the binary. In particular, we analyze for the first time the role of different eccentricities in the large scale evolution of the shocked flows. We find that the higher the eccentricity, the closer the flows behave like a one-side outflow, which becomes rather collimated for eccentricity values $\gtrsim 0.75$. The simulations also unveil that the pulsar and the stellar winds become fully mixed within the grid for low eccentricity systems, presenting a more stochastic behavior at large scales than in the highly eccentric systems., Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures

Gamma Cygni is a young supernova remnant located in the Cygnus region. MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov) telescopes detected TeV emission (MAGIC J2019+408) to the north-west of this remnant, about 5 arcmin from its border. We want to identify the radio sources within the region encompassing gamma Cygni and MAGIC J2019+408 to shed light on their nature and investigate if these radio sources could be potential contributors to gamma-ray emission. We carried out a detailed study of the data we obtained with a survey of the Cygnus region at 325 and 610 MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). We detected several radio sources in the region where the radio and the TeV emission overlap, as well as several areas of enhanced radio emission. In particular, two of these areas of diffuse enhanced emission may correspond to the supernova remnant interacting with a high density region, which seems to be the best candidate for the MAGIC source. Another two radio sources, which may or may not contribute to the gamma rays, are also spatially coincident with the emission peak of the MAGIC TeV source. One of them displays a rather peculiar extended morphology whose nature is completely unknown. We have identified the radio sources overlapping gamma Cygni and MAGIC J2019+408 and have shown that their potential gamma-ray contribution is likely not dominant. In addition, some of the studied sources show peculiar physical characteristics that deserve deeper multi-wavelength observations., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Isolated stellar-mass BH accrete gas, often at supersonic speeds, and can form outflows that can influence the accreted gas. The latter process, known as mechanical feedback, can significantly affect the accretion rate. We use hydrodynamical simulations to assess the impact of mechanical feedback on the accretion rate when the BH moves supersonically through a uniform medium. We carry out 3D hydrodynamical simulations of outflows fueled by accretion that interact with a uniform medium, probing scales similar to and larger than the accretor gravitational sphere of influence. In the simulations the accretor is at rest and the medium moves at supersonic speeds. The outflow power is assumed to be proportional to the accretion rate. The simulations are run for different outflow-medium motion angles and velocity ratios. The impact of different degrees of outflow collimation, accretor size, and resolution is also investigated. In general, the accretion rate is significantly affected by mechanical feedback. The effect is small for outflows perpendicular to the medium motion, and quickly grows for smaller angles. Moreover, the smaller the medium-to-outflow velocity ratio is, the more accretion decreases. On the other hand, the impact of outflow collimation seems moderate. The effect is enhanced when the accretor size is reduced. For a population of BH with random outflow orientations, the average accretion rate drops by (high-low resolution) ~0.2-0.4 and ~0.1-0.2 for medium-to-outflow velocity ratios of 1/20 and 1/100, respectively, when compared to the corresponding cases without outflow. Our results strongly indicate that, on the considered scales, mechanical feedback can easily reduce the energy available from supersonic accretion by a factor of several. This should be taken into account when studying the mechanical, thermal and non-thermal output of isolated BH., Comment: 11 pages, 19 figures, astronomy and astrophysics, version after proofs

High-mass microquasar jets, produced in an accreting compact object in orbit around a massive star, must cross a region filled with stellar wind. The combined effects of the wind and orbital motion can strongly affect the jet properties on binary scales and beyond. The study of such effects can shed light on how high-mass microquasar jets propagate and terminate in the interstellar medium. We study for the first time, using relativistic hydrodynamical simulations, the combined impact of the stellar wind and orbital motion on the properties of high-mass microquasar jets on binary scales and beyond. We have performed 3-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamic simulations, using the PLUTO code, of a microquasar scenario in which a strong weakly relativistic wind from a star interacts with a relativistic jet under the effect of the binary orbital motion. The parameters of the orbit are chosen such that the results can provide insight on the jet-wind interaction in compact systems like for instance Cyg~X-1 or Cyg~X-3. The wind and jet momentum rates are set to values that may be realistic for these sources and lead to moderate jet bending, which together with the close orbit and jet instabilities could trigger significant jet precession and disruption. For high-mass microquasars with orbit size $a\sim 0.1$~AU, and (relativistic) jet power $L_j\sim 10^{37}(\dot M_w/10^{-6}\,{\rm M}_\odot\,{\rm yr}^{-1})$~erg~s$^{-1}$, where $\dot M_w$ is the stellar wind mass rate, the combined effects of the stellar wind and orbital motion can induce relativistic jet disruption on scales $\sim 1$~AU., Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, MNRAS accepted

Several supersonic runaway pulsar wind nebulae (sPWNe) with jet-like extended structures have been recently discovered in X-rays. If these structures are the product of electrons escaping the system and diffusing into the surrounding interstellar medium, they can produce a radio halo extending for several arcmin around the source. We model the expected radio emission in this scenario in the Lighthouse Nebula sPWN. We assume a constant particle injection rate during the source lifetime, and isotropic diffusion into the surrounding medium. Our predictions strongly depend on the low- and high-energy cutoffs given in the particle distribution. Our results indicate that extended radio emission can be detected from the Lighthouse Nebula without the need to invoke extreme values for the model parameters. We provide synthetic synchrotron maps that can be used to constrain these results with observations by current highly sensitive radio instruments., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

Binary systems of Population III can evolve to microquasars when one of the stars collapses into a black hole. When the compact object accretes matter at a rate greater than the Eddington rate, powerful jets and winds driven by strong radiation pressure should form. We investigate the structure of the jet-wind system for a model of Population III microquasar on scales beyond the jet-wind formation region. Using relativistic hydrodynamic simulations we find that the ratio of kinetic power between the jet and the disk wind determines the configuration of the system. When the power is dominated by the wind, the jet fills a narrow channel, collimated by the dense outflow. When the jet dominates the power of the system, part of its energy is diverted turning the wind into a quasi-equatorial flow, while the jet widens. From the results of our simulations, we implement semi-analytical calculations of the impact of the quasiequatorial wind on scales of the order of the size of the binary system. Our results indicate that Population III microquasars might inject gamma rays and relativistic particles into the early intergalactic medium, contributing to its reionization at large distances from the binary system., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysical and Space Science

Gamma-ray binaries are systems that emit non-thermal radiation peaking at energies above 1 MeV. One proposed scenario to explain their emission consists of a pulsar orbiting a massive star, with particle acceleration taking place in shocks produced by the interaction of the stellar and pulsar winds. We develop a semi-analytical model of the non-thermal emission of the colliding-wind structure including the dynamical effects of orbital motion. We apply the model to a general case and to LS 5039. The model consists of a one-dimensional emitter the geometry of which is affected by Coriolis forces owing to orbital motion. Two particle accelerators are considered: one at the two-wind standoff location, and the other one at the turnover produced by the Coriolis force. Synchrotron and inverse Compton emission is studied, accounting for Doppler boosting and absorption processes associated to the massive star. If both accelerators are provided with the same energy budget, most of the radiation comes from the region of the Coriolis turnover and beyond, up to a few orbital separations from the binary system. The model allows us to reproduce some of the LS 5039 emission features, but not all of them. In particular, the MeV radiation is probably too high to be explained by our model alone, the GeV flux is recovered but not its modulation, and the radio emission beyond the Coriolis turnover is too low. The predicted system inclination is consistent with the presence of a pulsar in the binary. The model is quite successful in reproducing the overall non-thermal behavior of LS 5039. Some improvements are suggested to better explain the phenomenology observed in this source, like accounting for particle reacceleration beyond the Coriolis turnover, unshocked pulsar wind emission, and the three-dimensional extension of the emitter., Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Dark matter may consist, at least partially, of primordial black holes formed during the radiation-dominated era. The radiation produced by accretion onto primordial black holes leaves characteristic signatures on the properties of the medium at high redshift, before and after Hydrogen recombination. Therefore, reliable modelling of accretion onto these objects is required to obtain robust constraints on their abundance. We investigate the effect of mechanical feedback, i.e. the impact of outflows (winds and/or jets) on the medium, on primordial black hole accretion, and thereby on the associated radiation. Using analytical and numerical calculations, we study for the first time whether outflows can reduce the accretion rate of primordial black holes with masses similar to those detected by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration. Despite the complexity of the accretion rate evolution, mechanical feedback is able to significantly reduce the primordial black hole accretion rate, at least by an order of magnitude, when outflows are aligned with the motion of the compact object. If the outflow is perpendicular to the direction of motion, the effect is less important but still non-negligible. Outflows from primordial black holes, even rather weak ones, can significantly decrease the accretion rate, effectively weakening abundance constraints on these objects. Our results motivate further numerical simulations with a more realistic setup, which would yield more precise quantitative predictions., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Astronomy and Astrophysics (version after proofs; very minor changes)

The persistent gamma-ray source 4FGL J0647.7-4418 is tentatively associated in the latest Fermi catalogue with the sub-dwarf O-type X-ray binary HD 49798. However, an AGN candidate is also mentioned as an alternative identification in updated versions of the catalogue accompanying paper. If the first association were correct, this would add HD 49798 to the handful of currently known gamma-ray binaries and, therefore, represent a significant breakthrough not only because of a new member addition, but also because of the apparent white dwarf companion in this system. Despite these perspectives, here we show that the stellar association is likely wrong and that the proposed AGN object, well inside the Fermi 95% confidence ellipse, is a more conceivable counterpart candidate to the Fermi source due to its strong blazar similarities., Comment: 7 pages, 9 Figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

High-mass microquasars (HMMQs) are systems from which relativistic jets are launched. At the scales of several times the binary system size, the jets are expected to follow a helical path caused by the interaction with a strong stellar wind and orbital motion. Such a trajectory has its influence on the non-thermal emission of the jets, which also depends strongly on the observing angle due to Doppler boosting effects. We explore how the expected non-thermal emission of HMMQ jets at small scales is affected by the impact of the stellar wind and the orbital motion on the jet propagation. We studied the broadband non-thermal emission, from radio to gamma rays, produced in HMMQ jets up to a distance of several orbital separations, taking into account a realistic jet trajectory, different model parameters, and orbital modulation. The jet trajectory is computed by considering momentum transfer with the stellar wind. Electrons are injected at the position where a recollimation shock in the jets is expected due to the wind impact. Their distribution along the jet path is obtained assuming local acceleration at the recollimation shock, and cooling via adiabatic, synchrotron, and inverse Compton processes. The synchrotron and inverse Compton emission is calculated taking into account synchrotron self-absorption within the jet, free-free absorption with the stellar wind, and absorption by stellar photons via pair production. Asymmetric light curves are obtained owing to the helical trajectory of the jets. The presence of helical shaped jets could be inferred from asymmetries in the light curves, which become noticeable only for large jet Lorentz factors and low magnetic fields. Model parameters could be constrained if accurate phase-resolved light curves from GeV to TeV energies were available., Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. v2: Typo corrected in Eq. 2

Microquasars are binary systems consisting of a compact object and a star that present relativistic jets. When the companion is a high-mass star, significant interaction between the stellar wind and the jets is expected. In this work, an overview of the different effects that a strong stellar wind may have in microquasar jets is given. Both analytical estimates and numerical simulations performed in the last years are reviewed. The results of a model for the non-thermal emission of such jets at large scales are also shown and discussed. Observational studies of two high-mass microquasars, Cygnus X-1 and Cygnus X-3, are compared to the model predictions., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of the Frontier Research in Astrophysics III workshop (FRAPWS 2018), Mondello, Palermo, Italy

The stellar wind in high-mass microquasars should interact with the jet. This interaction, coupled with orbital motion, is expected to make the jet follow a helical, nonballistic trajectory. The jet energy dissipated by this interaction, through shocks for example, could lead to nonthermal activity on scales significantly larger than the system size. We calculate the broadband emission from a jet affected by the impact of the stellar wind and orbital motion in a high-mass microquasar. We employ a prescription for the helical trajectory of a jet in a system with a circular orbit. Subsequently, assuming electron acceleration at the onset of the helical jet region, we compute the spatial and energy distribution of these electrons, and their synchrotron and inverse Compton emission including gamma-ray absorption effects. For typical source parameters, significant radio, X- and gamma-ray luminosities are predicted. The scales on which the emission is produced may reduce, but not erase, orbital variability of the inverse Compton emission. The wind and orbital effects on the radio emission morphology could be studied using very long baseline interferometric techniques. We predict significant broadband emission, modulated by orbital motion, from a helical jet in a high-mass microquasar. This emission may be hard to disentangle from radiation of the binary itself, although the light curve features, extended radio emission, and a moderate opacity to very high-energy gamma rays, could help to identify the contribution from an extended (helical) jet region., Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. [v2,v3]: typos corrected. [v4]: figures 2 and 3 corrected

Relativistic hydrodynamical simulations of the eccentric gamma-ray binary HESS J0632$+$057, show that the energy of a putative pulsar wind should accumulate in the binary surroundings between periastron and apastron, being released by fast advection close to apastron. To assess whether this could lead to a maximum of the non-thermal emission before apastron, we derive simple prescriptions for the non-thermal energy content, the radiation efficiency, and the impact of energy losses on non-thermal particles, in the simulated hydrodynamical flow. These prescriptions are used to estimate the non-thermal emission in radio, X-rays, GeV, and TeV, from the shocked pulsar wind in a binary system simulated using a simplified 3-dimensional scheme for several orbital cycles. Lightcurves at different wavelengths are derived, together with synthetic radio images for different orbital phases. The dominant peak in the computed lightcurves is broad and appears close to, but before, apastron. This peak is followed by a quasi-plateau shape, and a minor peak only in gamma rays right after periastron. The radio maps show ejection of radio blobs before apastron in the periastron-apastron direction. The results show that a scenario with a highly eccentric high-mass binary hosting a young pulsar can explain the general phenomenology of HESS J0632$+$057: despite its simplicity, the adopted approach yields predictions that are robust at a semi-quantitative level and consistent with multiwavelength observations., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to MNRAS

The family links between radio galaxies and microquasars have been strongly strengthened thanks to a new common phenomenon: the presence of extended winged features. The first detection of such structures in a Galactic microquasar, recently reported in Nature Communications (http://rdcu.be/zgX8), widens the already known analogy between both kinds of outflow sources (Mart\'i et al. 2017). This observational result also has potential implications affecting the black hole merger scenarios that contribute to the gravitational wave background., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure. Based on an invited talk presented to the workshop on "Interstellar Medium and Radio Astronomy in Catalonia: the Robert Estalella Legacy", held at the University of Barcelona on 21-22 December 2017

HESS J0632+057 is an eccentric gamma-ray Be binary that produces non-thermal radio, X-rays, GeV, and very high-energy gamma rays. The non-thermal emission of HESS J0632+057 is modulated with the orbital period, with a dominant maximum before apastron passage. The nature of the compact object in HESS J0632+057 is not known, although it has been proposed to be a young pulsar as in PSR B1259-63, the only gamma-ray emitting high-mass binary known to host a non-accreting pulsar. In this Letter, we present hydrodynamical simulations of HESS J0632+057 in the context of a pulsar and a stellar wind interacting in an eccentric binary, and propose a scenario for the non-thermal phenomenology of the source. In this scenario, the non-thermal activity before and around apastron is linked to the accumulation of non-thermal particles in the vicinity of the binary, and the sudden drop of the emission before apastron is produced by the disruption of the two-wind interaction structure, allowing these particles to efficiently escape. In addition to providing a framework to explain the non-thermal phenomenology of the source, this scenario predicts extended, moving X-ray emitting structures similar to those observed in PSR B1259-63., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted by MNRAS Letters

Dense stellar winds may mass-load the jets of active galactic nuclei, although it is unclear what are the time and spatial scales in which the mixing takes place. We study the first steps of the interaction between jets and stellar winds, and also the scales at which the stellar wind may mix with the jet and mass-load it. We present a detailed two-dimensional simulation, including thermal cooling, of a bubble formed by the wind of a star. We also study the first interaction of the wind bubble with the jet using a three-dimensional simulation in which the star enters the jet. Stability analysis is carried out for the shocked wind structure, to evaluate the distances over which the jet-dragged wind, which forms a tail, can propagate without mixing with the jet flow. The two-dimensional simulations point at quick wind bubble expansion and fragmentation after about one bubble shock crossing time. Three-dimensional simulations and stability analysis point at local mixing in the case of strong perturbations and relatively small density ratios between the jet and the jet dragged-wind, and to a possibly more stable shocked wind structure at the phase of maximum tail mass flux. Analytical estimates also indicate that very early stages of the star jet-penetration time may be also relevant for mass loading. The combination of these and previous results from the literature suggest highly unstable interaction structures and efficient wind-jet flow mixing on the scale of the jet interaction height, possibly producing strong inhomogeneities within the jet. In addition, the initial wind bubble shocked by the jet leads to a transient, large interaction surface. The interaction structure can be a source of significant non-thermal emission., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are transient sources of unknown origin. Recent radio and optical observations have provided strong evidence for an extragalactic origin of the phenomenon and the precise localization of the repeating FRB 121102. Observations using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) have revealed the existence of a continuum non-thermal radio source consistent with the location of the bursts in a dwarf galaxy. All these new data rule out several models that were previously proposed, and impose stringent constraints to new models. We aim to model FRB 121102 in light of the new observational results in the active galactic nucleus (AGN) scenario. We propose a model for repeating FRBs in which a non-steady relativistic $e^\pm$-beam, accelerated by an impulsive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)-driven mechanism, interacts with a cloud at the centre of a star-forming dwarf galaxy. The interaction generates regions of high electrostatic field called cavitons in the plasma cloud. Turbulence is also produced in the beam. These processes, plus particle isotropization, the interaction scale, and light retardation effects, provide the necessary ingredients for short-lived, bright coherent radiation bursts. The mechanism studied in this work explains the general properties of FRB 121102, and may also be applied to other repetitive FRBs. Coherent emission from electrons and positrons accelerated in cavitons provides a plausible explanation of FRBs., Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in A&A

The central regions of galaxies are complex environments, rich in evolved and/or massive stars. For galaxies hosting an active galactic nucleus (AGN) with jets, the interaction of the jets with the winds of the stars within can lead to particle acceleration, and to extended high-energy emitting regions. We compute the non-thermal emission produced by the jet flow shocked by stellar winds on the jet scale, far from the jet-star direct interaction region. First, prescriptions for the winds of the relevant stellar populations in different types of galaxies are obtained. The scenarios adopted include galaxies with their central regions dominated by old or young stellar populations, and with jets of different power. Then, we estimate the available energy to accelerate particles in the jet shock, and compute the transport and energy evolution of the accelerated electrons, plus their synchrotron and inverse Compton emission, in the shocked flow along the jet. A significant fraction of the jet energy, $\sim 0.1-10$\%, can potentially be available for the particles accelerated in jet-wind shocks in the studied cases. The non-thermal particles can produce most of the high-energy radiation on jet scales, far from the jet shock region. This high-energy emission will be strongly enhanced in jets aligned with the line of sight due to Doppler boosting effects. The interaction of relativistic jets with stellar winds may contribute significantly to the persistent high-energy emission in some AGNs with jets. However, in the particular case of M87, this component seems too low to explain the observed gamma-ray fluxes., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Accepted to be published in A&A

Binaries hosting a massive star and a non-accreting pulsar are powerful non-thermal emitters due to the interaction of the pulsar and the stellar wind. The winds of massive stars are thought to be inhomogeneous, which could have an impact on the non-thermal emission. We study numerically the impact of the presence of inhomogeneities or clumps in the stellar wind on the high-energy non-thermal radiation of high-mass binaries hosting a non-accreting pulsar. We compute the trajectories and physical properties of the streamlines in the shocked pulsar wind without clumps, with a small clump, and with a large one. This information is used to compute the synchrotron and inverse Compton emission from the non-thermal populations, accounting also for the effect of gamma-ray absorption through pair creation. A specific study is done for PSR B1259-63/LS2883. When stellar wind clumps perturb the two-wind interaction region, the associated non-thermal radiation in the X-ray band,of synchrotron origin, and in the GeV-TeV band, of inverse Compton origin, is affected by several effects: (i) strong changes in the the plasma velocity direction that result in Doppler boosting factor variations, (ii) strengthening of the magnetic field that mainly enhances the synchrotron radiation, (iii) strengthening of the pulsar wind kinetic energy dissipation at the shock, potentially available for particle acceleration, and (iv) changes in the rate of adiabatic losses that affect the lower energy part of the non-thermal particle population. The radiation above 100 GeV detected, presumably, during the post-periastron crossing of the Be star disc in PSR B1259-63/LS2883, can be roughly reproduced assuming that the crossing of the disc is modeled as the encounter with a large inhomogeneity., Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, submitted to A&A

Aims: Probe the high-energy ($>$60 MeV) emission from the black hole X-ray binary system, Cygnus X-1, and investigate its origin. Methods: We analysed 7.5 yr of data by Fermi/LAT with the latest PASS8 software version. Results: We report the detection of a signal at $\sim$8 $\sigma$ statistical significance spatially coincident with Cygnus X-1 and a luminosity above 60 MeV of 5.5$\times$10$^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$. The signal is correlated with the hard X-ray flux: the source is observed at high energies only during the hard X-ray spectral state, when the source is known to display persistent, relativistic radio emitting jets. The energy spectrum, extending up to $\sim$20 GeV without any sign of spectral break, is well fitted by a power-law function with a photon index of 2.3$\pm$0.2. There is a hint of orbital flux variability, with high-energy emission mostly coming around the superior conjunction. Conclusions: We detected GeV emission from Cygnus X-1 and probed that the emission is most likely associated with the relativistic jets. The evidence of flux orbital variability points to the anisotropic inverse Compton on stellar photons as the mechanism at work, thus constraining the emission region to a distance $10^{11}-10^{13}$ cm from the black hole., Comment: accepted A\&A (9 pages and 7 figures)

The binary stellar system HD 93129A is one of the most massive known binaries in our Galaxy. This system presents non-thermal emission in the radio band, which can be used to infer its physical conditions and predict its emission in the high-energy band. We intend to constrain some of the unknown parameters of HD 93129A through modelling the non-thermal emitter, and also to analyse the detectability of this source in hard X-rays and $\gamma$-rays. We develop a broadband radiative model for the wind-collision region taking into account the evolution of the accelerated particles streaming along the shocked region, the emission by different radiative processes, and the attenuation of the emission propagating through the local matter and radiation fields. From the analysis of the radio emission, we find that the binary HD~93129A is more likely to have a low inclination and a high eccentricity. The minimum energy of the non-thermal electrons seems to be between $\sim 20 - 100$MeV, depending on the intensity of the magnetic field in the wind-collision region. The latter can be in the range $\sim 20 - 1500$ mG. Our model is able to reproduce the observed radio emission, and predicts that the non-thermal radiation from HD~93129A will increase in the near future. With instruments such as \textit{NuSTAR}, \textit{Fermi}, and CTA, it will be possible to constrain the relativistic particle content of the source, and other parameters such as the magnetic field strength in the wind collision zone, which in turn can be used to obtain upper-limits of the magnetic field on the surface of the very massive stars, thereby inferring whether magnetic field amplification is taking place in the particle acceleration region., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

Stars and their winds can contribute to the non-thermal (NT) emission in extragalactic jets. Given the complexity of jet-star interactions, the properties of the resulting emission are strongly linked to those of the emitting flows. We simulate the interaction between a stellar wind and a relativistic extragalactic jet and use the hydrodynamic results to compute the NT emission under different conditions. We perform relativistic axisymmetric hydrodynamical simulations of a relativistic jet interacting with a supersonic, non-relativistic stellar wind. We compute the corresponding streamlines out of the simulation results, and calculate the injection, evolution, and emission of NT particles accelerated in the jet shock, focusing on electrons or $e^\pm$-pairs. Several cases are explored, considering different jet-star interaction locations, magnetic fields and observer lines of sight. The jet luminosity and star properties are fixed, but the results are easily scalable under changes of these parameters. Individual jet-star interactions produce synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) emission that peaks from X-rays to MeV energies (depending on the magnetic field), and at $\sim 100-1000$ GeV (depending on the stellar type), respectively. The radiation spectrum is hard in the scenarios explored here due to non-radiative cooling dominance, as low-energy electrons are efficiently advected even under relatively high magnetic fields. Interactions of jets with cold stars lead to an even harder IC spectrum because of the Klein-Nishina effect in the cross-section. Doppler boosting has a strong impact on the observer luminosity. The emission levels for individual interactions found here are in the line of previous, more approximate, estimates, strengthening the hypothesis that collective jet-star interactions could significantly contribute at high energies under efficient particle acceleration., Comment: 13 pages, 2 tables, 14 figures. Language corrections mostly. Matches the published version in A&A 591, A15 (2016)

A mysterious X-ray-emitting object has been detected moving away from the high-mass gamma-ray binary PSR B1259-63, which contains a non-accreting pulsar and a Be star whose winds collide forming a complex interaction structure. Given the strong eccentricity of this binary, the interaction structure should be strongly anisotropic, which together with the complex evolution of the shocked winds, could explain the origin of the observed moving X-ray feature. We propose here that a fast outflow made of a pulsar-stellar wind mixture is always present moving away from the binary in the apastron direction, with the injection of stellar wind occurring at orbital phases close to periastron passage. This outflow periodically loaded with stellar wind would move with a high speed, and likely host non-thermal activity due to shocks, on scales similar to those of the observed moving X-ray object. Such an outflow is thus a very good candidate to explain this X-ray feature. This, if confirmed, would imply pulsar-to-stellar wind thrust ratios of $\sim 0.1$, and the presence of a jet-like structure on the larger scales, up to its termination in the ISM., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Context: Several binary systems hosting massive stars present gamma-ray emission. In most of these systems, despite detailed observational information being available, the nature and the structure of the emitter are still poorly known. Aims: We investigate the validity of the so-called one-zone approximation for the high-energy emitter in binary systems hosting a massive star. In particular, the case of LS 5039 is considered. Methods: Assuming a point-like emitter at rest, the presence of a nearby massive star, and the observed MeV and GeV fluxes as a reference, a non-thermal leptonic model is systematically applied for different locations, magnetic fields, and non-radiative losses. This allows us to identify both the emitter configurations that are most compatible with observations and inconsistencies between model predictions and the available data. Results: In the case of LS 5039, the best parameter combination is fast non-radiative cooling and a low magnetic field. However, discrepancies appear when comparing the model results at the MeV and GeV energy ranges with the observed fluxes. Predictions fail when the orbital motion is included in the analysis, because emitters and energy budgets that are too large are required. Values of X-ray and TeV fluxes that are too high are predicted in such a case, along half of the orbit. Conclusions: We show that the radiation in LS 5039 does not come from only one electron population, and the emitter is likely extended and inhomogeneous with a low magnetic field. We suggest that the emitter moves at relativistic velocities with Doppler boosting playing a significant role. Key words. Stars: high-mass, X-rays: binaries, gamma-rays: binaries, Comment: 13 pages and 61 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

Binary systems containing a massive star and a non-accreting pulsar present strong interaction between the stellar and the pulsar winds. The properties of this interaction, which largely determine the non-thermal radiation in these systems, strongly depend on the structure of the stellar wind, which can be clumpy or strongly anisotropic, as in Be stars. We study numerically the influence of inhomogeneities in the stellar wind on the structure of the two-wind interaction region. We carried out for the first time axisymmetric, relativistic hydrodynamical simulations, with Lorentz factors of ~6 and accounting for the impact of instabilities, to study the impact in the two-wind interaction structure of an over-dense region of the stellar wind. We also followed the evolution of this over-dense region or clump as it faces the impact of the pulsar wind. For typical system parameters, and adopting a stellar wind inhomogeneity with a density contrast >~10, clumps with radii of a few percent of the binary size can significantly perturb the two-wind interaction region, pushing the two-wind interface to <~40% of the initial distance to the pulsar. After it is shocked, the inhomogeneity quickly expands and is disrupted when it reaches the smallest distance to the pulsar. It eventually fragments, being advected away from the binary system. The whole interaction region is quite unstable, and the shocked pulsar wind can strongly change under small perturbations. We confirm the sensitive nature of the two-wind interaction structure to perturbations, in particular when the stellar wind is inhomogeneous. For realistic over-dense regions of the stellar wind, the interaction region may shrink by a factor of a few, with the shocked flow presenting a complex spatial and temporal pattern. This can lead to strong variations in the non-thermal radiation., Comment: This version matches the published version. The appendix at the end of the article appears as on-line material in the journal

The Fermi bubbles are part of a complex region of the Milky Way. This region presents broadband extended non-thermal radiation, apparently coming from a physical structure rooted in the Galactic Centre and with a partly-ordered magnetic field threading it. We explore the possibility of an explosive origin for the Fermi bubble region to explain its morphology, in particular that of the large-scale magnetic fields, and provide context for the broadband non-thermal radiation. We perform 3D magnetohydrodynamical simulations of an explosion from a few million years ago that pushed and sheared a surrounding magnetic loop, anchored in the molecular torus around the Galactic Centre. Our results can explain the formation of the large-scale magnetic structure in the Fermi bubble region. Consecutive explosive events may match better the morphology of the region. Faster velocities at the top of the shocks than at their sides may explain the hardening with distance from the Galactic Plane found in the GeV emission. In the framework of our scenario, we estimate the lifetime of the Fermi bubbles as $2\times10^6$ yr, with a total energy injected in the explosion(s) $> 10^{55}$ ergs. The broadband non-thermal radiation from the region may be explained by leptonic emission, more extended in radio and X-rays, and confined to the Fermi bubbles in gamma rays., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for A&A

Dense populations of stars surround the nuclear regions of galaxies. In active galactic nuclei, these stars can interact with the relativistic jets launched by the supermasive black hole. In this work, we study the interaction of early-type stars with relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei. A bow-shaped double-shock structure is formed as a consequence of the interaction of the jet and the stellar wind of each early-type star. Particles can be accelerated up to relativistic energies in these shocks and emit high-energy radiation. We compute, considering different stellar densities of the galactic core, the gamma-ray emission produced by non-thermal radiative processes. This radiation may be significant in some cases, and its detection might yield valuable information on the properties of the stellar population in the galaxy nucleus, as well as on the relativistic jet. This emission is expected to be particularly relevant for nearby non-blazar sources., Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRAS (15 pages, 9 figures)

We study the interaction of early-type stars with the jets of active galactic nuclei. A bow-shock will form as a consequence of the interaction of the jet with the winds of stars and particles can be accelerated up to relativistic energies in these shocks. We compute the non-thermal radiation produced by relativistic electrons from radio to gamma-rays. This radiation may be significant, and its detection might yield information on the properties of the stellar population in the galaxy nucleus, as well as on the relativistic jet. This emission is expected to be relevant for nearby non-blazar sources., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the conference "The Innermost Regions of Relativistic Jets and Their Magnetic Fields"

The high and very-high energy spectrum of gamma-ray binaries has become a challenge for all theoretical explanations since the detection of powerful, persistent GeV emission from LS 5039 and LS I +61 303 by Fermi/LAT. The spectral cutoff at a few GeV indicates that the GeV component and the fainter, hard TeV emission above 100 GeV are not directly related. We explore the possible origins of these two emission components in the framework of a young, non-accreting pulsar orbiting the massive star, and initiating the non-thermal emission through the interaction of the stellar and pulsar winds. The pulsar/stellar wind interaction in a compact orbit binary gives rise to two potential locations for particle acceleration: the shocks at the head-on collision of the winds and the termination shock caused by Coriolis forces on scales larger than the binary separation. We explore the suitability of these two locations to host the GeV and TeV emitters, respectively, through the study of their non-thermal emission along the orbit. We focus on the application of this model to LS 5039 given its well determined stellar wind with respect to other gamma-ray binaries. The application of the proposed model to LS 5039 indicates that these two potential emitter locations provide the necessary conditions for reproduction of the two-component high-energy gamma-ray spectrum of LS 5039. In addition, the ambient postshock conditions required at each of the locations are consistent with recent hydrodynamical simulations. The scenario based on the interaction of the stellar and pulsar winds is compatible with the GeV and TeV emission observed from gamma-ray binaries with unknown compact objects, such as LS 5039 and LS I +61 303., Comment: Version as published in A&A

Dense populations of stars surround the nuclear regions of galaxies. In this work, we study the interaction of a WR star with relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei. A bow-shaped double-shock structure will form as a consequence of the interaction of the jet and the wind of the star. Particles can be accelerated up to relativistic energies in these shocks and emit high-energy radiation. We compute the produced gamma-ray emission obtaining that this radiation may be significant. This emission is expected to be particularly relevant for nearby non-blazar sources., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy (Gamma2012), held in Heidelberg, July 9-13, 2012

Active galactic nuclei with misaligned jets have been recently established as a class of high-energy gamma-ray sources. M87, a nearby representative of this class, shows fast TeV variability on timescales less than one day. We present calculations performed in the framework of the scenario in which gamma-ray flares in non-blazar active galactic nuclei are produced by a red giant or a gas cloud interacting with the jet. We show that both the light curve and energy spectrum of the spectacular April 2010 flare can be reproduced by this model, assuming that a relatively massive cloud of approx 1.e29 g penetrates into the jet at few tens of Schwarzschild radii from the super-massive black hole., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted by ApJ

Extragalactic jets are formed close to supermassive black-holes in the center of galaxies. Large amounts of gas, dust, and stars cluster in the galaxy nucleus, and interactions between this ambient material and the jet base should be frequent, having dynamical as well as radiative consequences. This work studies the dynamical interaction of an obstacle, a clump of matter or the atmosphere of an evolved star, with the innermost region of an extragalactic jet. Jet mass-loading and the high-energy outcome of this interaction are briefly discussed. Relativistic hydrodynamical simulations with axial symmetry have been carried out for homogeneous and inhomogeneous obstacles inside a relativistic jet. These obstacles may represent a medium inhomogeneity or the disrupted atmosphere of a red giant star. Once inside the jet, an homogeneous obstacle expands and gets disrupted after few dynamical timescales, whereas in the inhomogeneous case, a solid core can smoothen the process, with the obstacle mass-loss dominated by a dense and narrow tail pointing in the direction of the jet. In either case, matter is expected to accelerate and eventually get incorporated to the jet. Particles can be accelerated in the interaction region, and produce variable gamma-rays in the ambient matter, magnetic and photon fields. The presence of matter clumps or red giants into the base of an extragalactic jet likely implies significant jet mass-loading and slowing down. Fast flare-like gamma-ray events, and some level of persistent emission, are expected due to these interactions., Comment: 13 pages, 15 Figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

The termination structures of the jets of Fanaroff & Riley galaxies are observed to produce extended non-thermal emission in a wide frequency range. The study of these structures can provide valuable insights on the conditions for particle acceleration and radiation at the shock fronts.We have studied the thermal and non-thermal emission that can be expected from the jet termination regions of Fanaroff & Riley type I sources. The broadband emission from these galaxies has been recently extended to include the high-energy gamma-ray domain, owing to the Fermi detection of Cen A lobes. Exploring the physics behind the jet/medium interactions in FRI can provide valuable insights on the conditions for particle acceleration and radiation in the jet termination shocks. Making use of the results of a fully relativistic numerical simulation code of the evolution of a FRI jet we model the expected radiative output and predict spectra and lightcurves of both thermal and non-thermal emission at different source ages., Comment: Proceedings of the High Energy Phenomena in Relativistic Outflows III conference

High-mass microquasars consist of a massive star and a compact object, the latter producing jets that will interact with the stellar wind. The evolution of the jets, and ultimately their radiative outcome, could depend strongly on the inhomogeneity of the wind, which calls for a detailed study. The hydrodynamics of the interaction between a jet and a clumpy wind is studied, focusing on the global wind and single clump-jet interplay. We have performed, using the code \textit{Ratpenat}, three-dimensional numerical simulations of a clumpy wind interacting with a mildly relativistic jet, and of individual clumps penetrating into a jet. For typical wind and jet velocities, filling factors of about > 0.1 are already enough for the wind to be considered as clumpy. An inhomogeneous wind makes the jet more unstable when crossing the system. Kinetic luminosities of the order 1.e37 erg/s allow the jet to reach the borders of a compact binary with an O star, as in the smooth wind case, although with a substantially higher degree of disruption. When able to enter into the jet, clumps are compressed and heated during a time of about their size divided by the sound speed in the shocked clump. Then, clumps quickly disrupt, mass-loading and slowing down the jet. We conclude that moderate wind clumpiness makes already a strong difference with the homogeneous wind case, enhancing jet disruption, mass-loading, bending, and likely energy dissipation in the form of emission. All this can have observational consequences at high-energies and also in the large scale radio jets., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. The quality of the images has been reduced to fit into arXiv requirements

Several binary systems that contain a massive star have been detected in both the radio band and at very high energies. In the dense stellar photon field of these sources, gamma-ray absorption and pair creation are expected to occur, and the radiation from these pairs may contribute significantly to the observed radio emission. We aim at going deeper in the study of the properties, and in particular the morphology, of the pair radio emission in gamma-ray binaries. We apply a Monte-Carlo code that computes the creation location, the spatial trajectory and the energy evolution of the pairs produced in the binary system and its surroundings. The radio emission produced by these pairs, with its spectral, variability and spatial characteristics, is calculated as it would be seen from a certain direction. A generic case is studied first, and then the specific case of LS 5039 is also considered. We find that, confirming previous results, the secondary radio emission should appear as an extended radio structure of a few milliarcseconds size. This radiation would be relatively hard, with fluxes up to ~ 10 mJy. Modulation is expected depending on the gamma-ray production luminosity, system eccentricity, and wind ionization fraction, and to a lesser extent on the magnetic field structure. In gamma-ray binaries in general, the pairs created due to photon-photon interactions can contribute significantly to the core, and generate an extended structure. In the case of LS 5039, the secondary radio emission is likely to be a significant fraction of the detected core flux, with a marginal extension., Comment: 13 pages, 12 Figures, 2 Tables, to be published in PASJ (Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan), in press

The high-mass microquasar Cygnus X-3 has been recently detected in a flaring state by the gamma-ray satellites Fermi and Agile. In the present contribution, we study the high-energy emission from Cygnus X-3 through a model based on the interaction of clumps from the Wolf-Rayet wind with the jet. The clumps inside the jet act as obstacles in which shocks are formed leading to particle acceleration and non-thermal emission. We model the high energy emission produced by the interaction of one clump with the jet and briefly discus the possibility of many clumps interacting with the jet. From the characteristics of the considered scenario, the produced emission could be flare-like due to discontinuous clump penetration, with the GeV long-term activity explained by changes in the wind properties., Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of the 25th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics - TEXAS 2010, December 06-10, Heidelberg, Germany

Jets are found in a variety of astrophysical sources, from young stellar objects to active galactic nuclei. In all the cases the jet propagates with a supersonic velocity through the external medium, which can be inhomogeneous, and inhomogeneities could penetrate into the jet. The interaction of the jet material with an obstacle produces a bow shock in the jet in which particles can be accelerated up to relativistic energies and emit high-energy photons. In this work, we explore the active galactic nuclei scenario, focusing on the dynamical and radiative consequences of the interaction at different jet heights. We find that the produced high-energy emission could be detectable by the current gamma-ray telescopes. In general, the jet-clump interactions are a possible mechanism to produce (steady or flaring) high-energy emission in many astrophysical sources in which jets are present., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the 275 IAU Symposium: "Jets at all Scales", held in Buenos Aires, September 13-17, 2010

We investigate the production of gamma-rays in the inner regions of SS 433 and in its interaction between its jets and the W50 nebula. We estimate the VHE emission that can be generated within the jets at distances above 1e+13 cm from the compact object. We also apply a theoretical model of the jet/medium interaction to SS 433/W50. We compare the predicted fluxes to observations of SS 433 at TeV energies, and derive new constraints of the physical properties of this system., Comment: Proceedings of the High Energy Phenomena in Relativistic Outlflows II (HEPRO II)

Recent observations in X-rays and gamma-rays of nearby FRI radio galaxies have raised the question of the origin of the emission detected in the termination structures of their jets. The study of these structures can give information on the conditions for particle acceleration and radiation at the front shocks. In addition, an evolutionary scenario can help to disentangle the origin of the detected X-ray emission in young FRI sources, like some Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum AGNs. This work focuses on the nature and detectability of the radiation seen from the termination regions of evolving FRI jets. We use the results of a relativistic, two-dimensional numerical simulation of the propagation of an FRI jet, coupled with a radiation model, to make predictions for the spectra and lightcurves of the thermal and non-thermal emission at different stages of the FRI evolution. Our results show that under moderate magnetic fields, the synchrotron radiation would be the dominant non-thermal channel, appearing extended in radio and more compact in X-rays, with relatively small flux variations with time. The shocked jet synchrotron emission would dominate the X-ray band, although the shocked ISM/ICM thermal component alone may be significant in old sources. Inverse Compton scattering of CMB photons could yield significant fluxes in the GeV and TeV bands, with a non-negligible X-ray contribution. The IC radiation would present a bigger angular size in X-rays and GeV than in TeV, with fluxes increasing with time. We conclude that the thermal and non-thermal broadband emission from the termination regions of FRI jets could be detectable for sources located up to distances of a few 100 Mpc., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Dense and cold clouds seem to populate the broad line region surrounding the central black hole in AGNs. These clouds could interact with the AGN jet base and this could have observational consequences. We want to study the gamma-ray emission produced by these jet-cloud interactions, and explore under which conditions this radiation would be detectable. We investigate the hydrodynamical properties of jet-cloud interactions and the resulting shocks, and develop a model to compute the spectral energy distribution of the emission generated by the particles accelerated in these shocks. We discuss our model in the context of radio-loud AGNs, with applications to two representative cases, the low-luminous Centaurus A, and the powerful 3C 273. Some fraction of the jet power can be channelled to gamma-rays, which would be likely dominated by synchrotron self-Compton radiation, and show typical variability timescales similar to the cloud lifetime within the jet, which is longer than several hours. Many clouds can interact with the jet simultaneously leading to fluxes significantly higher than in one interaction, but then variability will be smoothed out. Jet-cloud interactions may produce detectable gamma-rays in non-blazar AGNs, of transient nature in nearby low-luminous sources like Cen A, and steady in the case of powerful objects of FR II type., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (9 pages, 7 figures)