Time-dependent Radiation Transfer in the Internal Shock Model Scenario for Blazar Jets

TL;DR

This paper models the time-dependent radiation transfer in blazar jets using the internal shock scenario, analyzing how shell collisions produce observable spectral energy distributions and variability patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed, self-consistent model of radiation transfer in blazar jets considering shell collisions and inhomogeneous photon densities.

Findings

Spectral energy distributions vary with input parameters.

Shell collision dynamics influence emission features.

Model reproduces observed blazar variability patterns.

Abstract

We describe the time-dependent radiation transfer in blazar jets, within the internal shock model. We assume that the central engine, which consists of a black hole and an accretion disk, spews out relativistic shells of plasma with different velocity, mass, and energy. We consider a single inelastic collision between a faster (inner) and a slower (outer) moving shell. We study the dynamics of the collision and evaluate the subsequent emission of radiation via the synchrotron and synchrotron self Compton (SSC) processes after the interaction between the two shells has begun. The collision results in the formation of a forward shock (FS) and a reverse shock (RS) that convert the ordered bulk kinetic energy of the shells into magnetic field energy and accelerate the particles, which then radiate. We assume a cylindrical geometry for the emission region of the jet. We treat the self-consistent radiative transfer by taking into account the inhomogeneity in the photon density throughout the region. In this paper, we focus on understanding the effects of varying relevant input parameters on the simulated spectral energy distribution (SED) and spectral variability patterns.