Three-Dimensional Simulations of MHD Turbulence Behind Relativistic Shock Waves and Their Implications for GRBs

TL;DR

This study uses 3D relativistic MHD simulations to investigate magnetic field amplification behind shocks due to RMI, revealing rapid growth, decay patterns, and implications for GRB afterglows and polarization.

Contribution

It provides new insights into magnetic field amplification mechanisms, turbulence decay, and polarization limits in relativistic shock environments, challenging existing models.

Findings

Magnetic energy can amplify by over two orders of magnitude.

Magnetic energy decay follows a power-law with exponent -0.7.

Maximum polarization is limited to less than 2%."

Abstract

Relativistic astrophysical phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and active galactic nuclei often require long-lived strong magnetic field. Here, we report on three-dimensional special-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to explore the amplification and decay of macroscopic turbulence dynamo excited by the so-called Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI; a Rayleigh-Taylor type instability). This instability is an inevitable outcome of interactions between shock and ambient density fluctuations. We find that the magnetic energy grows exponentially in a few eddy turnover times, and then, following the decay of kinetic turbulence, decays with a temporal power-law exponent of -0.7. The magnetic-energy fraction can reach $epsilon_B \sim$ 0.1 but depends on the initial magnetic field strength. We find that the magnetic energy grows by at least two orders of magnitude compared to the magnetic energy immediately behind the shock. This minimum degree of the amplification does not depend on the amplitude of the initial density fluctuations, while the growth timescale and the maximum magnetic energy depend on the degree of inhomogeneity in the density. The transition from Kolmogorov cascade to MHD critical balance cascade occurs at $\sim$ 1/10th the initial inhomogeneity scale, which limits the maximum synchrotron polarization to less than 2%. New results include the avoidance of electron cooling with RMI turbulence, the turbulent photosphere model via RMI, and the shallow decay of the early afterglow from RMI. We also performed a simulation of freely decaying turbulence with relativistic velocity dispersion. We find that relativistic turbulence begins to decay much faster than one eddy-turnover time because of fast shock dissipation, which does not support the relativistic turbulence model by Narayan & Kumar.