Blazar Spectra with Hard-sphere-like Acceleration of Electrons

TL;DR

This paper models electron acceleration in blazar jets using a hard-sphere scattering approach, demonstrating that turbulence-driven acceleration can reproduce observed spectra with simple assumptions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hard-sphere scattering model for electron acceleration in blazars and shows its effectiveness in reproducing observed spectra.

Findings

Model successfully reproduces various blazar spectra.

Acceleration timescale is independent of electron energy.

Simple assumptions like constant injection and diffusion are sufficient.

Abstract

Electrons emitting non-thermal photons in blazars are possibly accelerated by turbulences developed in jets. In this paper, we consider the case so-called hard-sphere scattering as an interaction model between turbulences and electrons, in which the acceleration timescale is independent of the electron energy. We numerically simulate broad-band emission from blazar jets with a one-zone time-dependent code, taking into account the turbulence acceleration. Our model reproduces various blazar spectra with simple assumptions, such as constant particle injection rate, constant diffusion coefficient, and conical geometry of the jet. We also discuss possible mechanism to realize the hard-sphere-like acceleration in blazar jets.