Stochastic Electron Acceleration in SNR RX J1713.7-3946

TL;DR

This paper develops a numerical model for stochastic electron acceleration in supernova remnants, applying it to SNR RX J1713.7-3946 and constraining parameters with observational data.

Contribution

It introduces a time-dependent numerical solution for the Fokker-Planck equation and a self-similar model for particle acceleration in Sedov explosions.

Findings

Model successfully fits observational data of SNR RX J1713.7-3946

Constraints on diffusion coefficients and acceleration timescales obtained

Demonstrates the importance of plasma wave interactions in particle acceleration

Abstract

Stochastic acceleration of charged particles due to their interactions with plasma waves may be responsible for producing superthermal particles in a variety of astrophysical systems. This process can be described as a diffusion process in the energy space with the Fokker-Planck equation. In this paper, a time-dependent numerical code is used to solve the reduced Fokker-Planck equation involving only time and energy variables with general forms of the diffusion coefficients. We also propose a self-similar model for particle acceleration in Sedov explosions and use the TeV SNR RX J1713.7-3946 as an example to demonstrate the model characteristics. Markov Chain Monte Carlo method is utilized to constrain model parameters with observations.