Interaction of the electro-magnetic precursor from a relativistic shock with the upstream flow. I. Synchrotron absorption of strong electromagnetic waves

TL;DR

This paper investigates how strong electromagnetic precursor waves generated at relativistic shocks interact with upstream plasma, focusing on synchrotron absorption, which could facilitate energy transfer and particle acceleration.

Contribution

It introduces the calculation of synchrotron absorption of strong electromagnetic waves in relativistic shock precursors, a novel step in understanding energy transfer mechanisms.

Findings

Calculated synchrotron absorption of strong waves

Identified potential for energy transfer to particles

Lays groundwork for further shock interaction studies

Abstract

This paper is the first in the series of papers aiming to study interaction of the electro-magnetic precursor waves generated at the front of a relativistic shock with the upstream flow. It is motivated by a simple consideration showing that the absorption of such an electro-magnetic precursor could yield an efficient transformation of the kinetic energy of the upstream flow to the energy of accelerated particles. Taking into account that the precursor is a strong wave, in which electrons oscillate with relativistic velocities, the standard plasma-radiation interaction processes should be reconsidered. In this paper, I calculate the synchrotron absorption of strong electro-magnetic waves.