Theory of Electron Injection at Oblique Shock of Finite Thickness

TL;DR

This paper develops a theory for electron injection at oblique shocks of finite thickness, highlighting the role of stochastic shock drift acceleration and its efficiency in different astrophysical shock environments.

Contribution

It introduces a new framework linking SSDA to diffusive shock acceleration at finite-thickness shocks, clarifying injection thresholds and efficiency conditions.

Findings

SSDA can be described by a diffusion-convection equation similar to DSA.

Injection threshold energy is around 0.1-1 MeV in typical interstellar conditions.

Electron acceleration efficiency increases at high Mach numbers and oblique shocks.

Abstract

A theory of electron injection into diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) for the generation of cosmic-ray electrons at collisionless shocks is presented. We consider a recently proposed particle acceleration mechanism called stochastic shock drift acceleration (SSDA). We find that SSDA may be understood as a diffusive particle acceleration mechanism at an oblique shock of finite thickness. More specifically, it is described by a solution to the diffusion-convection equation for particles with the characteristic diffusion length comparable to the shock thickness. On the other hand, the same equation yields the standard DSA if the diffusion length is much longer than the thickness. Although SSDA predicts, in general, a spectral index steeper than DSA, it is much more efficient for low-energy electron acceleration and is favorable for injection. The injection threshold energy corresponds to the transition energy between the two different regimes. It is of the order of $0.1\text{-}1$ MeV in typical interstellar and interplanetary conditions if the dissipation scale of turbulence around the shock is determined by the ion inertial length. The electron injection is more efficient at high $M_\textrm{A} / \cos \theta_{Bn}$ where $M_\textrm{A}$ and $\theta_{Bn}$ are the Alfv\'en Mach number and the shock obliquity. The theory suggests that efficient acceleration of electrons to ultra-relativistic energies will be more easily realized at high-Mach-number young supernova remnant shocks, but not at weak or moderate shocks in the heliosphere unless the upstream magnetic field is nearly perpendicular to the shock normal.