Astrophysical Wake Acceleration Driven by Relativistic Alfvenic Pulse Emitted from Bursting Accretion Disk

TL;DR

This paper proposes a mechanism where electromagnetic pulses from accretion disks accelerate particles to ultra-high energies, explaining cosmic rays and emissions from active galactic nuclei, with applications to sources like M82 X-1.

Contribution

It introduces a novel wake acceleration process driven by Alfvenic pulses in accretion disks, linking jet physics to ultra-high energy cosmic rays and non-thermal emissions.

Findings

Explains ultra-high energy cosmic rays above 6×10^19 eV from M82 X-1.

Predicts non-thermal emissions across multiple wavelengths from active galactic nuclei.

Suggests a new acceleration mechanism involving electromagnetic wakefields in astrophysical jets.

Abstract

We consider that electromagnetic pulses produced in the jets of this innermost part of the accretion disk accelerate charged particles (protons, ions, electrons) to very high energies including energies above $10^{20}$ eV for the case of protons and nucleus and $10^{12-15}$ eV for electrons by electromagnetic wave-particle interaction. The episodic eruptive accretion in the disk by the magneto-rotational instability gives rise to the strong Alfvenic pulses, which acts as the driver of the collective accelerating pondermotive force. This pondermotive force drives the wakes. The accelerated hadrons (protons and nuclei) are released to the intergalactic space to be ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The high-energy electrons, on the other hand, emit photons in the collisions of electromagnetic perturbances to produce various non-thermal emissions (radio, IR, visible, UV, and gamma-rays) of active galactic nuclei. Applying the theory to M82 X-1, we find that it can explain the northern hot spot of ultra high energy cosmic rays above $6\times 10^{19}$ eV. We also discuss astrophysical implications for other nearby active galactic nuclei, neutron star mergers, and high energy neutrinos.