Collaborative Research: A Systematic Study of the Role of Magnetic Fields in Relativistic Jets and Shocks

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AST-0908010/AST-0908040Hardee/NishikawaThis project is the first study of important three-dimensional effects in relativistic strongly-magnetized outflows. It will lay a firm basis for the realistic modeling of jets from black hole binary star systems, known as microquasars, and from active galactic nuclei, and of pulsar wind outflows and gamma-ray bursts. It will add substantially to our understanding of relativistic magnetohydrodynamic processes. Numerical simulations and theoretical development will provide an understanding of the role of strong magnetic fields in relativistic jets and shocks. The results will be used with observations of jets in very different environments to make predictions about the acceleration and collimation process and accompanying magnetization, and means of energy transport, in different astrophysical systems and at different spatial scales. This research directly addresses the relationship between jet dynamics and magnetic processes, adding insight into the physics of jet acceleration, collimation, propagation and particle acceleration.This study also enhances the partnership between scientists at two campuses of the University of Alabama, at the National Space Science and Technology Center (Huntsville, Alabama), at Ben Gurion University (Israel), and at other national and international facilities. Student training in mathematical and computational techniques, their involvement in forefront research, and their participation in scientific meetings, will help prepare them for a range of science-based careers. The researchers are severally involved in public outreach at a variety of levels.