Loading…

Are Gamma-Ray Burst Shocks Mediated by the Weibel Instability?

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 pr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2006-08, Vol.647 (2), p.1250-1254
Main Authors: Lyubarsky, Yuri, Eichler, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1086/505523