Instability induced by recollimation in highly magnetised outflows

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that recollimation in highly magnetised relativistic outflows induces MHD instabilities, which can lead to magnetic energy dissipation, potentially explaining observed gamma-ray flare variability.

Contribution

It provides a linear stability analysis showing how flow convergence triggers instabilities in ultra-relativistic, magnetised outflows, highlighting a possible dissipation mechanism.

Findings

Recollimation induces MHD instabilities in magnetised outflows.

Perturbation amplitude diverges at flow focus point.

Instabilities may facilitate magnetic energy dissipation.

Abstract

In the paradigm of magnetic acceleration of relativistic outflows, a crucial point is identifying a viable mechanism to convert the Poynting flux into the kinetic energy of the plasma, and eventually into the observed radiation. Since the plasma is hardly accelerated beyond equipartition, MHD instabilities are often invoked to explain the dissipation of the magnetic energy. Motivated by the fast variability that is shown by the gamma-ray flares of both AGN and PWNe, different authors have proposed the Poynting flux to be dissipated in a region where the flow is converging. Here we perform a linear stability analysis of ultra-relativistic, highly magnetised outflows with such a recollimation nozzle, showing that MHD instabilities are indeed induced by the convergence of the flow. The amplitude of the perturbations increases while recollimation gets stronger, and eventually diverges when the flow is focused to a single point. Hence, depending on the geometry of the outflow, instabilities excited while the flow is converging may play an important role to dissipate the magnetic energy of the plasma.