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Acceleration and Dissipation in Relativistic Winds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2016

Jonathan Arons
Jonathan Arons*
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley, Department of Astronomy, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA

Abstract

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I argue that ideal MHD relativistic winds are always limited in practice to asymptotic 4-velocity γ∞ ≍ σ1/30 and asymptotic magnetization σ ∼ σ 2/30 ≫ 1, where σ0 is the wind magnetization with respect to the rest energy density, evaluated at the light cylinder of the rotating, magnetized compact object that drives the flow. This suggests that the observed low value of the asymptotic σ in the equatorial sectors of the winds driving pulsar wind nebulae and the associated high values of the asymptotic 4-velocity are a consequence of magnetic dissipation in the wind zone.

Type
Part 4: Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Their Environments
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 218: Young Neutrons Stars and their Environments , 2004 , pp. 163 - 166
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004 

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