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The gravitational waves from the binary neutron star merger GW170817 were accompanied by a multi-wavelength electromagnetic counterpart, which confirms the association of the merger with a short gamma-ray burst (sGRB). The afterglow observations implied that the event was accompanied by a narrow, $\sim 5~$deg, and powerful, $\sim 10^{50}$ erg, jet. We study the propagation of a Poynting flux-dominated jet within the merger ejecta (kinematic, neutrino-driven and MRI turbulence-driven) of a neutrino-radiation-GR-MHD simulation of two coalescing neutron stars. We find that the presence of a post-merger low-density/low-pressure polar cavity, that arose due to angular momentum conservation, is crucial to let the jet break out. At the same time the ejecta collimates the jet to a narrow opening angle. The collimated jet has a narrow opening angle of $\sim 4$-$7$ deg and an energy of $10^{49}$-$10^{50}~$erg, in line with the observations of GW170817 and other sGRBs., 10 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted to ApJ Letters

The luminosity of the Soft Gamma Repeater (SGR) flares significantly exceeds the Eddington luminosity. This is because they emit mainly in the E-mode, for which the radiative cross-sections are strongly suppressed. The energy is released in the magnetosphere forming a magnetically trapped pair fireball, and the surface of the star is illuminated by the powerful radiation from the fireball. We study the ablation of the matter from the surface by this radiation. The E-mode photons are scattered within the surface layer, partly being converted into O-photons, whose scattering cross-section is of the order of the Thomson cross-section. The high radiation pressure of the O-mode radiation expels the plasma upwards. The uplifted matter forms a thick baryon sheath around the fireball. If an illuminated fraction of the star's surface includes the polar cap, a heavy, mildly relativistic baryonic wind is formed., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures

The dissipation of turbulent magnetic fields is an appealing scenario to explain the origin of non-thermal particles in high-energy astrophysical sources. However, it has been suggested that the particle distribution may effectively thermalize when the radiative (synchrotron and/or Inverse Compton) losses are severe. Inspired by recent particle-in-cell simulations of relativistic turbulence, which show that electrons are impulsively heated in intermittent current sheets by a strong electric field aligned with the local magnetic field, we instead argue that in plasmas where the particle number density is dominated by the pairs (electron–positron and electron–positron–ion plasmas): (i) as an effect of fast cooling and of different injection times, the electron energy distribution is dne/dγ ∝ γ−2 for γ ≲ γheat (the Lorentz factor γheat being close to the equipartition value), while the distribution steepens at higher energies; (ii) since the time-scales for the turbulent fields to decay and for the photons to escape are of the same order, the magnetic and the radiation energy densities in the dissipation region are comparable; (iii) if the mass energy of the plasma is dominated by the ion component, the pairs with a Lorentz factor smaller than a critical one (of the order of the proton-to-electron mass ratio) become isotropic, while the pitch angle remains small otherwise. The outlined scenario is consistent with the typical conditions required to reproduce the spectral energy distribution of blazars, and allows one to estimate the magnetization of the emission site. Finally, we show that turbulence within the Crab Nebula may power the observed gamma-ray flares if the pulsar wind is nearly charge separated at high latitudes.

This is the second in the series of papers aiming to study interaction of the electromagnetic precursor waves from relativistic shocks with the upstream flow. Here, I consider the induced scattering of strong waves. In such a wave, the electrons oscillate with relativistic velocities therefore, the scattering generally occurs in harmonics of the incident wave. I show that the induced scattering occurs predominantly in the first harmonics. I also show that even though in the weak case regime, the induced scattering rate is proportional to the intensity of the incident wave, in the strong wave case, the rate decreases as the wave amplitude grows.

The fate of relativistic pair beams produced in the intergalactic medium by very high energy emission from blazars remains controversial in the literature. The possible role of resonance beam plasma instability has been studied both analytically and numerically but no consensus has been reached. In this paper, we thoroughly analyze the development of this type of instability. This analysis takes into account that a highly relativistic beam loses energy only due to interactions with the plasma waves propagating within the opening angle of the beam (we call them parallel waves), whereas excitation of oblique waves results merely in an angular spreading of the beam, which reduces the instability growth rate. For parallel waves, the growth rate is a few times larger than for oblique ones, so they grow faster than oblique waves and drain energy from the beam before it expands. However, the specific property of extragalactic beams is that they are extraordinarily narrow; the opening angle is only $\Delta\theta\sim 10^{-6}-10^{-5}$. In this case, the width of the resonance for parallel waves, $\propto\Delta\theta^2$, is too small for them to grow in realistic conditions. We perform both analytical estimates and numerical simulations in the quasilinear regime. These show that for extragalactic beams, the growth of the waves is incapable of taking a significant portion of the beam's energy. This type of instability could at best lead to an expansion of the beam by some factor but the beam's energy remains nearly intact., Comment: To be published in MNRAS

This paper is the first in a series devoted to the numerical study of nonlinear interactions of electromagnetic waves with plasma. We start with non-magnetized pair plasmas, where the primary processes are induced (Compton) scattering and the filamentation instability. In this paper, we consider waves in which electron oscillations are non-relativistic. Here, the numerical results can be compared to analytical theory, facilitating the development of appropriate numerical tools and framework. We distill the analytic theory, reconciling plasma and radiative transfer pictures of induced scattering and developing in detail the kinetic theory of modulation/filamentation instability. We carry out homogeneous numerical simulations using the particle-in-cell codes EPOCH and Tristan-MP, for both monochromatic waves and wave packets. We show that simulations of both processes are consistent with theoretical predictions, setting the stage for analyzing the highly nonlinear regime., Comment: 18 pages, 15 figures, Comments welcome

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are extreme astrophysical phenomena entering the realm of non-linear optics, a field developed in laser physics. A classical non-linear effect is self-modulation. We examine the propagation of FRBs through the circumburst environment using the idealised setup of a monochromatic linearly-polarised GHz wave propagating through a uniform plasma slab of density $N$ at distance $R$ from the source. We find that self-modulation occurs if the slab is located within a critical radius $R_{\rm crit}\sim 10^{17}(N/10^2{\rm\; cm}^{-3})(L/10^{42}{\rm\; erg\; s}^{-1}){\rm\; cm}$, where $L$ is the isotropic equivalent of the FRB luminosity. Self-modulation breaks the burst into pancakes transverse to the radial direction. When $R\lesssim R_{\rm crit}$, the transverse size of the pancakes is smaller than the Fresnel scale. The pancakes are strongly diffracted as the burst exits the slab, and interference between the pancakes produces a frequency modulation of the observed intensity with a sub-GHz bandwidth. When $R\sim R_{\rm crit}$, the transverse size of the pancakes becomes comparable with the Fresnel scale, and the effect of diffraction is weaker. The observed intensity is modulated on a timescale of ten microseconds, which corresponds to the radial width of the pancakes. Our results suggest that self-modulation may cause the temporal and frequency structure observed in FRBs., accepted for publication in MNRAS

Spectral modification of energetic magnetar flares by resonant cyclotron scattering (RCS) is considered. During energetic flares, photons emitted from the magnetically-trapped fireball near the stellar surface should resonantly interact with magnetospheric electrons or positrons. We show by a simple thought experiment that such scattering particles are expected to move at mildly relativistic speeds along closed magnetic field lines, which would slightly shift the incident photon energy due to the Doppler effect. We develop a toy model for the spectral modification by a single RCS that incorporates both a realistic seed photon spectrum from the trapped fireball and the velocity field of particles, which is unique to the flaring magnetosphere. We show that our spectral model can be effectively characterized by a single parameter; the effective temperature of the fireball, which enables us to fit observed spectra with low computational cost. We demonstrate that our single scattering model is in remarkable agreement with Swift/BAT data of intermediate flares from SGR 1900+14, corresponding to effective fireball temperatures of $T_{\rm eff}=6$-$7$ keV, whereas BeppoSAX/GRBM data of giant flares from the same source may need more elaborate models including the effect of multiple scatterings. Nevertheless, since there is no standard physically-motivated model for magnetar flare spectra, our model could be a useful tool to study magnetar bursts, shedding light on the hidden properties of the flaring magnetosphere., 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted to MNRAS; Appendix B is added

The nearly 100% linear polarization has been reported for a few fast radio bursts. This finding places severe limits on the emission mechanism. I argue that the totally polarized radiation could be generated in the course of relativistic magnetic reconnection in the outer magnetosphere of the magnetar. At the onset of the magnetar flare, a large scale magnetic perturbation forms a magnetic pulse, which propagates from the flare cite outwards. The pulse strongly compresses magnetospheric plasma and pushes it away. The high-frequency MHD waves are generated when the magnetic pulse reaches the current sheet separating, just beyond the light cylinder, the oppositely directed magnetic fields. Coalescence of magnetic islands in the reconnecting current sheet produces magnetosonic waves, which propagate away on the top of the magnetic pulse and escape in the far zone of the wind as radio waves polarized along the rotational axis of the magnetar. I estimate parameters of the outgoing radiation and show that they are compatible with the observed properties of FRBs., Comment: Sect. 3 is modified and Appendix B is added

Theoretical modelling and observations of AGN jets suggest that the non-thermal electrons emitting the observed radiation should (i) carry an amount of energy comparable to the magnetic fields ($U_e\sim U_B$), which is likely the case if the magnetic fields play a dynamically important role in the jet's acceleration process; (ii) cool efficiently in a dynamical time ($t_{\rm cool}\lesssim t_{\rm dyn}$), which is suggested by the fact that a large fraction of the jet's kinetic energy is promptly converted into radiation. These expectations are at odds with the results of the simplest one-zone Self-Synchro-Compton (SSC) model for the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of BL Lacs. Indeed, the model predicts $U_e\gg U_B$ and $t_{\rm cool}\gg t_{\rm dyn}$ for most of the objects. Here we closely investigate one of the key assumptions of this model, namely that the momentum distribution of the non-thermal electrons is isotropic. We find that this assumption may be an oversimplification. If the magnetic energy is dissipated via a turbulent MHD cascade, the highest energy electrons may instead retain a small pitch angle. Since the synchrotron emissivity is suppressed when the pitch angle is small, this effect may importantly affect the modelling of the SED. As an illustrative example, we present an anisotropic model for the electron momentum distribution such that $U_e\sim U_B$ and $t_{\rm cool}\lesssim t_{\rm dyn}$ at the same time. Our model manages to simultaneously solve the two problems with one only more free parameter with respect to the usual isotropic one-zone SSC model., Submitted to MNRAS. Revised after the first referee report

The pulsar radio emission is commonly associated with the plasma outflow in the open field line tube; then a pencil beam is emitted along the pulsar magnetic axis. Observations suggest that there is an additional radio emission mechanism specific for pulsars with high magnetic field at the light cylinder. These pulsars are known to be strong sources of non-thermal high energy radiation, which could be attributed to reconnection in the current sheet separating, just beyond the light cylinder, the oppositely directed magnetic fields. Pulsars with the highest magnetic field at the light cylinder (>100 kG) exhibit also radio pulses in phase with the high energy pulses. Moreover, giant radio pulses are observed in these pulsars. I argue that the reconnection process that produces high energy emission could also be responsible for the radio emission. Namely, coalescence of magnetic islands in the sheet produces magnetic perturbations that propagate away in the form of electro-magnetic nano-shots. I estimate the parameters of this emission and show that they are compatible with observations., MNRAS, in press

In this review we describe recent observational and theoretical developments in our understanding of pulsar winds and pulsar-wind nebulae (PWNe). We put special emphasis on the results from observations of well-characterized PWNe of various types (e.g., torus-jet and bowshock-tail), the most recent MHD modeling efforts, and the status of the flaring Crab PWN puzzle., Comment: 60 pages, 20 figures; slightly modified version of the article published in Space Science Reviews; citations added in the revised version

In the paradigm of magnetic acceleration of relativistic outflows, a crucial point is identifying a viable mechanism to convert the Poynting flux into the kinetic energy of the plasma, and eventually into the observed radiation. Since the plasma is hardly accelerated beyond equipartition, MHD instabilities are often invoked to explain the dissipation of the magnetic energy. Motivated by the fast variability that is shown by the gamma-ray flares of both AGN and PWNe, different authors have proposed the Poynting flux to be dissipated in a region where the flow is converging. Here we perform a linear stability analysis of ultra-relativistic, highly magnetised outflows with such a recollimation nozzle, showing that MHD instabilities are indeed induced by the convergence of the flow. The amplitude of the perturbations increases while recollimation gets stronger, and eventually diverges when the flow is focused to a single point. Hence, depending on the geometry of the outflow, instabilities excited while the flow is converging may play an important role to dissipate the magnetic energy of the plasma., Comment: 7 pages, accepted by MNRAS

This paper is the first in the series of papers aiming to study interaction of the electro-magnetic precursor waves generated at the front of a relativistic shock with the upstream flow. It is motivated by a simple consideration showing that the absorption of such an electro-magnetic precursor could yield an efficient transformation of the kinetic energy of the upstream flow to the energy of accelerated particles. Taking into account that the precursor is a strong wave, in which electrons oscillate with relativistic velocities, the standard plasma-radiation interaction processes should be reconsidered. In this paper, I calculate the synchrotron absorption of strong electro-magnetic waves., 8 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The collapsar model explains the association of long duration gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) with stellar collapse. It involves a relativistic jet that forms at the core of a collapsing massive star. The jet penetrates the stellar envelope and the prompt GRB emission is produced once the jet is well outside the star. Most current models for generation of relativistic jets involve Poynting flux dominated outflows. We explore here the propagation of such a jet through a stellar envelope. The jet forms a bow shock around it. Energy dissipation at the head of this shock supplies energy to a cocoon that surrounds the jet. This cocoon exerts pressure on the jet and collimates it. While this description resembles the propagation of a hydrodynamic jets there are significant qualitative differences. Two Strong shocks, the reverse shock that slows down the hydrodynamic jet and the collimation shock that collimates it, cannot form within the Poynting flux dominated jet. As a result this jet moves much faster and dissipates much less energy while it crosses the stellar envelope. We construct here a simple analytic model that explores, self consistently, the jet-cocoon interaction and dynamics. Using this model we determine the properties of the jet, including its velocity, propagation time and shape., 31 pages, 6 figures

We study the linear and non-linear development of the Kruskal-Schwarzchild Instability in a relativisitically expanding striped wind. This instability is the generalization of Rayleigh-Taylor instability in the presence of a magnetic field. It has been suggested to produce a self-sustained acceleration mechanism in strongly magnetized outflows found in active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, and micro-quasars. The instability leads to magnetic reconnection, but in contrast with steady-state Sweet-Parker reconnection, the dissipation rate is not limited by the current layer's small aspect ratio. We performed two-dimensional (2D) relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic (RMHD) simulations featuring two cold and highly magnetized ($1\leq\sigma\leq10^{3}$) plasma layers with an anti-parallel magnetic field separated by a thin layer of relativistically hot plasma with a local effective gravity induced by the outflow's acceleration. Our simulations show how the heavier relativistically hot plasma in the reconnecting layer drips out and allows oppositely oriented magnetic field lines to reconnect. The instability's growth rate in the linear regime matches the predictions of linear stability analysis. We find turbulence rather than an ordered bulk flow near the reconnection region, with turbulent velocities up to $\sim0.1$c, largely independent of model parameters. However, the magnetic energy dissipation rate is found to be much slower, corresponding to an effective ordered bulk velocity inflow into the reconnection region $v_{\rm in}=\beta_{\rm in}c$, of $10^{-3}\lesssim\beta_{\rm in}\lesssim 5\times10^{-3}$. This occurs due to the slow evacuation of hot plasma from the current layer, largely because of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability experienced by the dripping plasma. 3D RMHD simulations are needed to further investigate the non-linear regime., Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for Publication in MNRAS

The recently discovered gamma-ray flares from the Crab nebula are generally attributed to the magnetic energy release in a highly magnetized region within the nebula. I argue that such a region naturally arises in the polar region of the inner nebula. In pulsar winds, efficient dissipation of the Poynting flux into the plasma energy occur only in the equatorial belt where the energy is predominantly transferred by alternating fields. At high latitudes, the pulsar wind remains highly magnetized therefore the termination shock in the polar region is weak and the postshock flow remains relativistic. I study the structure of this flow and show that the flow at first expands and decelerates and then it converges and accelerates. In the converging part of the flow, the kink instability triggers the magnetic dissipation. The energy release zone occurs at the base of the observed jet. A specific turbulence of relativistically shrinking magnetic loops efficiently accelerates particles so that the synchrotron emission in the hundreds MeV band, both persistent and flaring, comes from this site.

This chapter mainly deals with magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration in relativistic astrophysical plasmas, where the temperature of the current sheet exceeds the rest mass energy and the Alfven velocity is close to the speed of light. Magnetic reconnection now receives a great deal of interest for its role in many astrophysical systems such as pulsars, magnetars, galaxy clusters, and active galactic nucleus jets. We review recent advances that emphasize the roles of reconnection in high-energy astrophysical phenomena.

We have investigated the relaxation of a hydrostatic hot plasma column containing toroidal magnetic field by the Current-Driven (CD) kink instability as a model of pulsar wind nebulae. In our simulations the CD kink instability was excited by a small initial velocity perturbation and developed turbulent structure inside the hot plasma column. We demonstrated that, as envisioned by Begelman, the hoop stress declines and the initial gas pressure excess near the axis decreases. The magnetization parameter "σ", the ratio of the magnetic energy to the thermal energy for a hot plasma, declined from an initial value of 0.3 to about 0.01 when the CD kink instability saturated. Our simulations demonstrated that axisymmetric models strongly overestimate the elongation of the pulsar wind nebulae. Therefore, the previous requirement for an extremely low pulsar wind magnetization can be abandoned. The observed structure of the pulsar wind nebulae do not contradict the natural assumption that the magnetic energy flux still remains a good fraction of the total energy flux after dissipation of alternating fields.

We have investigated the development of current-driven (CD) kink instability through three-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. A static force-free equilibrium helical magnetic configuration is considered in order to study the influence of the initial configuration on the linear and nonlinear evolution of the instability. We found that the initial configuration is strongly distorted but not disrupted by the kink instability. The instability develops as predicted by linear theory. In the nonlinear regime, the kink amplitude continues to increase up to the terminal simulation time, albeit at different rates, for all but one simulation. The growth rate and nonlinear evolution of the CD kink instability depend moderately on the density profile and strongly on the magnetic pitch profile. The growth rate of the kink mode is reduced in the linear regime by an increase in the magnetic pitch with radius and reaches the nonlinear regime at a later time than the case with constant helical pitch. On the other hand, the growth rate of the kink mode is increased in the linear regime by a decrease in the magnetic pitch with radius and reaches the nonlinear regime sooner than the case with constant magnetic pitch. Kink amplitude growth in the nonlinear regime for decreasing magnetic pitch leads to a slender helically twisted column wrapped by magnetic field. On the other hand, kink amplitude growth in the nonlinear regime nearly ceases for increasing magnetic pitch.

In relativistic, Poynting dominated outflows, acceleration and collimation are intimately connected. An important point is that the Lorentz force is nearly compensated by the electric force therefore the acceleration zone spans a large range of scales. We derived the asymptotic equations describing relativistic, axisymmetric MHD flows far beyond the light cylinder. These equations do not contain either intrinsic small scales (like the light cylinder radius) or terms that nearly cancel each other (like the electric and magnetic forces) therefore they could be easily solved numerically. They also suit well for qualitative analysis of the flow and in many cases, they could even be solved analytically or semi-analytically. We show that there are generally two collimation regimes. In the first regime, the residual of the hoop stress and the electric force is counterbalanced by the pressure of the poloidal magnetic field so that at any distance from the source, the structure of the flow is the same as the structure of an appropriate cylindrical equilibrium configuration. In the second regime, the pressure of the poloidal magnetic field is negligible small so that the flow could be conceived as composed from coaxial shrinking magnetic loops. In the two collimation regimes, the flow is accelerated in different ways. We study in detail the structure of jets confined by the external pressure with a power law profile. In particular, we obtained simple scalings for the extent of the acceleration zone, for the terminal Lorentz factor and for the collimation angle., Submitted to ApJ; the second version: corrected typos, minor changes in the text

Most of the rotational luminosity of a pulsar is carried away by a relativistic magnetised wind in which the matter energy flux is negligible compared to the Poynting flux. Near the equatorial plane of an obliquely rotating pulsar magnetosphere, the magnetic field reverses polarity with the pulsar period, forming a wind with oppositely directed field lines. This structure is called a striped wind; dissipation of alternating fields in the striped wind is the object of our study. The aim of this paper is to study the conditions required for magnetic energy release at the termination shock of the striped pulsar wind. Magnetic reconnection is considered via analytical methods and 1D relativistic PIC simulations. An analytical condition on the upstream parameters for partial and full magnetic reconnection is derived from the conservation laws of energy, momentum and particle number density across the relativistic shock. Furthermore, by using a 1D relativistic PIC code, we study in detail the reconnection process at the termination shock. We found a very simple criterion for dissipation of alternating fields at the termination shock, depending on the upstream parameters of the flow. 1D relativistic PIC simulations are in agreement with our criterion. Thus, alternating magnetic fields annihilate easily at relativistic highly magnetised shocks., Comment: Accepted by A&A

We study the compression driven magnetic reconnection in the relativistic electron-positron plasma. Making use of a 2.5D particle-in-cell code, we simulated compression of a magnetized plasma layer containing a current sheet within it. We found that the particle spectrum within the reconnecting sheet becomes non-thermal; it could be approximated by a power-law distribution with an index of -1 and an exponential cutoff., Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, to appear in the ApJ August 10, 2008, v683n 1 issue

Effect of the induced Compton and Raman scattering on short, bright radio pulses is investigated. It is shown that when a single pulse propagates through the scattering medium, the effective optical depth is determined by the duration of the pulse but not by the scale of the medium. The induced scattering could hinder propagation of the radio pulse only if close enough to the source a dense enough plasma is presented. The induced scattering within the relativistically moving source places lower limits on the Lorentz factor of the source. The results are applied to the recently discovered short extragalactic radio pulse., Comment: submitted to ApJ

In this paper we revisit the striped wind model in which the wind is accelerated by magnetic reconnection. In our treatment, radiation is included as an independent component, and two scenarios are considered. In the first one, radiation cannot stream efficiently through the reconnection layer, while the second scenario assumes that radiation is homogeneous in the striped wind. We show how these two assumptions affect the dynamics. In particular, we find that the asymptotic radial evolution of the Lorentz factor is not strongly modified whether radiation can stream through the reconnection layer or not. On the other hand, we show that the width, density and temperature of the reconnection layer are strongly dependent on these assumptions. We then apply the model to the gamma-ray burst context and find that photons cannot diffuse efficiently through the reconnection layer below radius $r_{\rm D}^{\Delta} \sim 10^{10.5}$ cm, which is about an order of magnitude below the photospheric radius. Above $r_{\rm D}^{\Delta}$, the dynamics asymptotes to the solution of the scenario in which radiation can stream through the reconnection layer. As a result, the density of the current sheet increases sharply, providing efficient photon production by the Bremsstrahlung process which could have profound influence on the emerging spectrum. This effect might provide a solution to the soft photon problem in GRBs., Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, submitted to MNRAS

It is estimated that the Weibel instability is not generally an effective mechanism for generating ultrarelativistic astrophysical shocks. Even if the upstream magnetic field is as low as in the interstellar medium, the shock is mediated not by the Weibel instability but by the Larmor rotation of protons in the background magnetic field. Future simulations should be able to verify or falsify our conclusion.

On 2004 Dec. 27, the soft gamma repeater (SGR) 1806-20 emitted the brightest giant flare (GF) ever detected from an SGR, with an (isotropic) energy release $\sim 100$ times greater than the only two other known SGR GFs. It was followed by a very bright, fading radio afterglow. Extensive follow-up radio observations provided a wealth of information with unprecedented astrometric precision, revealing the temporal evolution of the source size, along with densely sampled light curves and spectra. Here we expand on our previous work on this source, by explaining these observations within one self-consistent dynamical model. In this scenario, the early radio emission is due to the outflow ejected during the GF energizing a thin shell surrounding a pre-existing cavity, where the observed steep temporal decay of the radio emission seen beginning on day 9 is attributed to the adiabatic cooling of the shocked shell. The shocked ejecta and external shell move outward together, driving a forward shock into the ambient medium, and are eventually decelerated by a reverse shock. As we show in Gelfand et al. (2005), the radio emission from the shocked external medium naturally peaks when significant deceleration occurs, and then decays relatively slowly. The dynamical modeling of the collision between the ejecta and the external shell together with the observed evolution of the source size (which is nicely reproduced in our model) suggest that most of the energy in the outflow was in mildly relativistic material, with an initial expansion velocity $v/c \lesssim 0.7d_{15}$, for a distance of $15d_{15}$ kpc to SGR 1806-20. An initially highly relativistic outflow would not have produced a long coasting phase at a mildly relativistic expansion velocity, as was observed., 15 pages, 2 figures, clearer and more elaborate version; ApJ, in press

The extraordinary giant flare (GF) of 2004 December 27 from the soft gamma repeater (SGR) 1806-20 was followed by a bright radio afterglow. We present an analysis of VLA observations of this radio afterglow from SGR 1806-20, consisting of previously reported 8.5 GHz data covering days 7 to 20 after the GF, plus new observations at 8.5 and 22 GHz from day 24 to 81. We detect motion in the flux centroid of the afterglow, at an average velocity of 0.26 +/- 0.03 c (assuming a distance of 15 kpc) at a position angle of -45 degrees. This motion, in combination with the growth and polarization measurements, suggests an asymmetric outflow, mainly from one side of the magnetar. We find a deceleration in the expansion, from ~9 mas/day to, 5 pages, 3 figures, as accepted to ApJ Letters

Reconnection of the magnetic lines of force is considered in case the magnetic energy exceeds the rest energy of the matter. It is shown that the classical Sweet-Parker and Petschek models are generalized straightforwardly to this case and the reconnection rate may be estimated by substituting the Alfven velocity in the classical formulas by the speed of light. The outflow velocity in the Sweet-Parker configuration is mildly relativistic. In the Petschek configuration, the outflow velocity is ultrarelativistic whereas the angle between the slow shocks is very small. Due to the strong compression, the plasma outflow in the Petschek configuration may become strongly magnetized if the reconnecting fields are not exactly antiparallel., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS

The origin of radio emission from plerions is considered. Recent observations suggest that radio emitting electrons are presently accelerated rather than having been injected at early stages of the plerion evolution. The observed flat spectra without a low frequency cutoff imply an acceleration mechanism that raises the average particle energy by few orders of magnitude but leaves most of the particles at the energy less than about few hundred MeV. It is suggested that annihilation of the alternating magnetic field at the pulsar wind termination shock provides the necessary mechanism. Toroidal stripes of opposite magnetic polarity are formed in the wind emanated from an obliquely rotating pulsar magnetosphere (the striped wind). At the termination shock, the flow is compressed and the magnetic field annihilates by driven reconnection. Jump conditions are obtained for the shock in a striped wind. It is shown that postshock MHD parameters of the flow are the same as if the energy of alternating field has already been converted into the plasma energy upstream the shock. Therefore the available estimates of the ratio of the Poynting flux to the matter energy flux, $\sigma$, should be attributed not to the total upstream Poynting flux but only to that associated with the average magnetic field. A simple model for the particle acceleration in the shocked striped wind is presented., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, accepted MNRAS

In this paper, we give a detailed description of the first attempt to study the properties of the flow produced by a magnetized pulsar wind within a plerionic nebula via fully relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. Following the current theoretical models of pulsar winds, we assume that in the equatorial direction the magnetization of the wind drops to zero but its energy flux reaches a maximum. The results of our 2D axisymmetric simulations reveal complex dynamics of the post-shock flow, very different from the steady quasi-radial outflow assumed in earlier analytical models for plerions. The termination shock has the shape of a distorted torus and most of the downstream flow is initially confined to the equatorial plane. Provided the wind magnetization is higher than a certain value, the magnetic hoop stress stops the outflow in the surface layers of the equatorial disc and redirects it into magnetically confined polar jets. The outflow in the inner layers of the equatorial disc continues until it reaches the slowly expanding outer shell and then turns back and forms the vortex flow filling the nebular volume at intermediate latitudes. We simulated the synchrotron images of the nebula taking into account the relativistic beaming effect and the particle energy losses. These images are strikingly similar to the well-known images of the Crab and other pulsar wind nebulae obtained by Chandra and the Hubble Space Telescope. They exhibit both a system of rings, which makes an impression of an equatorial disc-like or even a toroidal structure, and well-collimated polar jets, which appear to originate from the pulsar. A number of fine details of the inner Crab nebula find natural explanation including the bright knot discovered by Hester et al. in 1995 very close to the Crab pulsar.

SGR 1627-41 was discovered in 1998 after a single active episode which lasted \~6 weeks. We report here our monitoring results of the decay trend of the persistent X-ray luminosity of the source during the last 5 years. We find an initial temporal power law decay with index 0.47, reaching a plateau which is followed by a sharp (factor of ten) flux decline ~800 days after the source activation. The source spectrum is best described during the entire period by a single power law with high absorption (N_H=9.0(7)x10^(22) cm^(-2)); the spectral index, however, varies dramatically between 2.2-3.8 spanning the entire range for all known SGR sources. We discuss the cooling behavior of the neutron star assuming a deep crustal heating initiated by the burst activity of the source during 1998., 12 pages, 2 figures, published in ApJ Letters corrected first paragraph of introduction

Radiation transfer in a scattering medium in a superstrong magnetic field is considered. Because cross-sections depend on frequency, photons with different energies escape layers with different temperatures and therefore the spectrum of the outgoing radiation differs significantly from the equilibrium blackbody or Bose-Einstein spectrum. It is shown that the emergent spectrum (the photon flux per unit energy band) is flat at low energies. Applications of the result to soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) are discussed. Even though the spectrum is strongly distorted when the radiation propagates through the magnetosphere, a flat segment may be observed in the outgoing spectrum if the surface magnetic field of the neutron star is not too high, B < 10 1 5 G.

We have investigated the development of current-driven (CD) kink instability in relativistic jets via 3D RMHD simulations. In this investigation a static force-free equilibrium helical magnetic field configuration is considered in order to study the influence of the initial configuration on the linear and nonlinear evolution of the instability. We found that the initial configuration is strongly distorted but not disrupted by the CD kink instability. The linear growth and nonlinear evolution of the CD kink instability depends moderately on the radial density profile and strongly on the magnetic pitch profile. Kink amplitude growth in the nonlinear regime for decreasing magnetic pitch leads to a slender helically twisted column wrapped by magnetic field. On the other hand, kink amplitude growth in the nonlinear regime nearly ceases for increasing magnetic pitch.

Bursts of millisecond duration were recently discovered in the 1 GHz band. There is a strong evidence that they come from $\sim 1 $ Gpc distances, which implies extraordinary high brightness temperature. I propose that these bursts could be attributed to synchrotron maser emission from relativistic, magnetized shocks. At the onset of the magnetar flare, a strongly magnetized pulse is formed, which propagates away through the relativistic magnetar wind and eventually reaches the nebula inflated by the wind within the surrounding medium. I show that the observed radio bursts could be generated at shocks formed via the interaction of the magnetic pulse with the plasma within the nebula. The model predicts strong millisecond bursts in the TeV band, which could be observed even from distant galaxies., Comment: 5 pages

The low energy spectral slopes of the prompt emission of most gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are difficult to reconcile with radiatively efficient optically thin emission models irrespective of the radiation mechanism. An alternative is to ascribe the radiation around the spectral peak to a thermalization process occurring well inside the Thomson photosphere. This quasi-thermal spectrum can evolve into the observed non-thermal shape by additional energy release at moderate to small Thomson optical depths, which can readily give rise to the hard spectral tail. The position of the spectral peak is determined by the temperature and Lorentz factor of the flow in the termalization zone, where the total number of photons carried by the jet is established. To reach thermalization, dissipation alone is not sufficient and photon generation requires an efficient emission/absorption process in addition to scattering. We perform a systematic study of all relevant photon production mechanisms searching for possible conditions in which thermalization can take place. We find that a significant fraction of the available energy should be dissipated at intermediate radii, $\sim 10^{10}$-- a few$\times 10^{11}$ cm and the flow there should be relatively slow: the bulk Lorentz factor could not exceed a few tens for all but the most luminous bursts with the highest $\Epk$-s. The least restrictive constraint for successful thermalization, $\Gamma\lesssim 20$, is obtained if synchrotron emission acts as the photon source. This requires, however, a non-thermal acceleration deep below the Thomson photosphere transferring a significant fraction of the flow energy to relativistic electrons with Lorentz factors between 10 and 100. Other processes require bulk flow Lorentz factors of order of a few for typical bursts. We examine the implications of these results to different GRB photospheric emission models., Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted to ApJ

The origin of fast radio bursts remains a puzzle. Suggestions have been made that they are produced within the Earth atmosphere, in stellar coronae, in other galaxies or at cosmological distances. If they are extraterrestrial, the implied brightness temperature is very high, and therefore, the induced scattering places constraints on possible models. In this paper, constraints are obtained on flares from coronae of nearby stars. It is shown that the radio pulses with the observed power could not be generated if the plasma density within and in the nearest vicinity of the source is as high as it is necessary in order to provide the observed dispersion measure. However, one cannot exclude a possibility that the pulses are generated within a bubble with a very low density and pass through the dense plasma only in the outer corona., Comment: Accepted ApJ

We have investigated the development of current-driven (CD) kink instability in relativistic jets, via 3D relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. For this purpose, a static force-free equilibrium helical magnetic configuration is considered in order to study its influence on the linear and nonlinear stages of the instability. We found that this configuration is strongly distorted but not disrupted by the CD kink instability. Both the linear growth and the nonlinear evolution of this in-stability depend moderately on the radial density profile but are strongly sensitive to the magnetic pitch profile. For decreasing magnetic pitch, kink amplitude growth leads, in the nonlinear regime, to a slender helically twisted column wrapped by magnetic field. Differently, for increasing magnetic pitch, the kink amplitude nearly saturates in the nonlinear regime. We have also investigated the influence of velocity shear on the linear and non-linear development of the instability. We found that helically distorted density structures propagate along the jet with a speed and a flow structure that are dependent on the location of the velocity shear relative to the characteristic radius of the helically twisted force-free magnetic field. At small radius, the plasma flows through the kink. The kink propagation speed increases with the velocity shear radius, and the kink becomes more em-bedded in the plasma flow. Larger velocity shear radius leads to slower linear growth, with a later transition to the nonlinear stage and a larger maximum amplitude than in the case of a static plasma column. However, when the velocity shear radius is much greater than the characteristic radius of the helical magnetic field, linear and non-linear developments become more similar to those of a static plasma column.

The subpulse modulation of pulsar radio emission goes to prove that the plasma flow in the open field line tube breaks into isolated narrow streams. I propose a model which attributes formation of streams to the process of the electric current adjustment in the magnetosphere. A mismatch between the magnetospheric current distribution and the current injected by the polar cap accelerator gives rise to reverse plasma flows in the magnetosphere. The reverse flow shields the electric field in the polar gap and thus shuts up the plasma production process. I assume that a circulating system of streams is formed such that the upward streams are produced in narrow gaps separated by downward streams. The electric drift is small in this model because the potential drop in narrow gaps is small. The gaps have to drift because by the time a downward stream reaches the star surface and shields the electric field, the corresponding gap has to shift. The transverse size of the streams is determined by the condition that the potential drop in the gaps is sufficient for the pair production. This yields the radius of the stream roughly 10% of the polar cap radius, which makes it possible to fit in the observed morphological features such as the "carousel" with 10-20 subbeams and the system of the core - two nested cone beams., Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure

Origin of the jet-like feature in the inner Crab Nebula is discussed. Because self-collimation processes in ultrarelativistic pulsar winds are extremely ineffective, it is suggested that the collimation occurs beyond the termination shock where the flow is already mildly (or non-) relativistic. It is argued that the shock shape is highly non-spherical because the energy flux in the pulsar wind decreases towards the axis. The shock near the axis should be much closer to the pulsar than at the equator and therefore the jet looks as if it originates directly from the pulsar.

The instabilities of relativistic ion beams in a relativistically hot electron background are derived for general propagation angles. It is shown that the Weibel instability in the direction perpendicular to the streaming direction is the fastest growing mode, and probably the first to appear, consistent with the aligned filaments that are seen in PIC simulations. Oblique, quasiperpendicular modes grow almost as fast, as the growth rate varies only moderately with angle, and they may distort or corrugate the filaments after the perpendicular mode saturates., 10 pages, 6 figures

The structure of a relativistically hot, strongly magnetized jet is investigated at large distances from the source. Asymptotic equations are derived describing collimation and acceleration of the externally confined jet. Conditions are found for the transformation of the thermal energy into the fluid kinetic energy or into the Poynting flux. Simple scalings are presented for the jet collimation angle and Lorentz factors., Comment: To appear in Phys.RevE