{
  "id": "2302.05276",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2023-02-10T14:40:34.000Z",
  "updated": "2023-02-10T14:40:34.000Z",
  "title": "Particle acceleration by magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability: mechanism for flares in black-hole accretion flows",
  "authors": [
    "Vladimir Zhdankin",
    "Bart Ripperda",
    "Alexander A. Philippov"
  ],
  "comment": "7 pages, 5 figures including Supplementary Material; submitted for publication",
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph.HE",
    "physics.plasm-ph"
  ],
  "abstract": "We study the magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor instability in relativistic collisionless plasma, as an astrophysical process for nonthermal particle acceleration. We consider dense plasma on top of a highly magnetized cavity with sheared magnetic field. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we show that small plumes grow and merge progressively to form a large-scale plume, which triggers magnetic reconnection upon relaxation. We find efficient particle acceleration capable of explaining flares from the inner accretion flow onto the black hole Sgr A*.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2023-02-10T14:40:34.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "magnetic rayleigh-taylor instability",
      "black-hole accretion flows",
      "small plumes grow",
      "nonthermal particle acceleration",
      "efficient particle acceleration"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 7,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}