Journal article
A first-principle model for polarization swings during reconnection-powered flares
- Abstract:
- We show that magnetic reconnection in a magnetically dominated fast-cooling plasma can naturally produce bright flares accompanied by rotations in the synchrotron polarization vector. With particle-in-cell simulations of reconnection, we find that flares are powered by efficient particle acceleration at the interface of merging magnetic flux ropes, or "plasmoids." The accelerated particles stream through the post-merger plasmoid toward the observer, thus progressively illuminating regions with varying plane-of-sky field direction, and so leading to a rotation in the observed polarization vector. Our results provide evidence for magnetic reconnection as the physical cause of high-energy flares from the relativistic jets of blazars (which recent observations have shown to be frequently associated with polarization rotations), and provide a first-principle physical mechanism for such flares.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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Access Document
- Files:
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(Preview, Accepted manuscript, 22.0MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.3847/2041-8213/abafa6
Authors
- Publisher:
- IOP Publishing
- Journal:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters More from this journal
- Volume:
- 900
- Issue:
- 2
- Pages:
- L23-L23
- Publication date:
- 2020-09-04
- Acceptance date:
- 2020-08-14
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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2041-8213
- ISSN:
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2041-8205
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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1132739
- Local pid:
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pubs:1132739
- Deposit date:
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2020-09-18
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- The American Astronomical Society
- Copyright date:
- 2020
- Rights statement:
- © 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved
- Notes:
-
This is the accepted manuscript version of the article. The final version is available from IOP Publishing at https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/abafa6
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