Electron-Ion Temperature Ratio in Transrelativistic Unmagnetized Shock Waves

Arno Vanthieghem, Vasileios Tsiolis, Frederico Fiuza, Kazuhiro Sekiguchi, Anatoly Spitkovsky, Yasushi Todo

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Weakly magnetized shock waves are paramount to a large diversity of environments, including supernova remnants, blazars, and binary-neutron-star mergers. Understanding the distribution of energy between electrons and ions within these astrophysical shock waves spanning a wide spectrum of velocities is a long-standing challenge. In this study, we present a unified model for the downstream electron temperature within unmagnetized shock waves. Encompassing velocities from Newtonian to relativistic, we probe regimes representative of the gradual deceleration of the forward shock in the late gamma-ray burst afterglow phase, such as GRB 170817A. In our model, heating results from an ambipolar electric field generated by the difference in inertia between electrons and ions, coupled with rapid electron scattering in the decelerating turbulence. Our findings demonstrate that the electron temperature consistently represents 10% of the incoming ion kinetic energy in the shock front frame over the full range of shock velocities.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number011
JournalProceedings of Science
Volume461
StatePublished - Jul 30 2024
Event8th High Energy Phenomena in Relativistic Outflows, HEPRO 2023 - Paris, France
Duration: Oct 23 2023Oct 26 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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