Cyclotron & Synchrotron

Radiation
Rybicki & Lightman
Chapter 6

Cyclotron and Synchrotron Radiation

Charged particles are accelerated by B-fields radiation
magnetobremsstrahlung
Cyclotron Radiation
non-relativistic particles
frequency of emission = frequency of gyration
Synchrotron Radiation
relativistic particles
frequency of emission
from a single particle
emission at a range
of frequencies

Astronomical Examples:
(1) Galactic and extragalactic non-thermal radio and X-ray emission
Supernova remnants, radio galaxies, jets
(2) Transient solar events, Jovian radio emission

Synchrotron emission:
reveals presence of B-field, direction
Allows estimates of energy content of particles
Spectrum energy distribution of electrons
Jet production in many different contexts

Equation of motion for a single electron:

Recall

E / c
p
p

Relativistic equation
of motion

4-momentum

dp
m0 a
d

d
0
dt

so

see Eqn. 4.82-4.84

q
d d
p mv v B
dt
dt
c

d
d
2
E
mc qv E 0
dt
dt

or
constant
v constant

(1)

(2) Let

d v||
dt

be divided into

v|| vel. parallel to B

v vel. normal to B

0 v|| constant

dv
q

v B
dt
mc
Since

is a constant, and

v||

is a constant,

is a constant

(3) Result: Helical motion

- uniform circular motion in plane
perpendicular to B field
- uniform velocity along the field line

(4) The frequency of rotation or gyration is

eB
B
mc
Remember

cyclotron

eB

mc

so

(Larmor frequency)

cyclotron
B

Numerically, the Larmor frequency is

cyclotron = 2.8B1G MHz

Radius of the orbit

cyclotron

E1GeV
10
cm
B1G
7

Typical values:

B 10 6 G , E 10GeV R 1014 cm 7 AU
small on cosmic scales

Total Emitted Power

Recall

For single electron

2q 2 4 2
P 3 a 2 a||2
3c

perpendicular, parallel acceleration in

frame where the electron is instantaneously
at rest.
In our case, the acceleration is perpendicular to the velocity:

dv
q
a

v B
dt mc

So

a B v

e2
write r0 m c 2
e
v

c

classical
electron
radius

and

2q 2 4 q 2 B 2 2
P 3 2 2 2 v
3c
mc

P r c 2 2 B 2
2
2
3 o

1.6 10 15 2 2 B 2 ergs/s

Average over an isotropic, mono-energetic velocity distribution

of electrons:
i.e. all electrons have the same velocity v, but random
pitch angle with respect to the B field,

r r
1
cos
2

Then

2
So

r c B
2 2
3 0

2
d( sin)

2
=
4

2 2 2
0
3

8 2 2
dsin 2 =
=
4 3 3

P = ( ) r c 22 B 2

per particle

or

P 1.110 15 2 2 B 2 erg/s per electron

Write it another way

where

4
2 2
P T c U B
3

8 r02
T
3

Thomson cross-section

B2
UB
8
For 1.

magnetic energy density

B
P ~ 1.6 10
8
2

E
eV / sec

2
me c

Life time of particle of energy E is

2

t1/ 2

B
E
1

2 16.4 yr
P
B E
G

Spectrum of Synchrotron Radiation -Qualitative Discussion

The spectrum of synchrotron radiation is related to the
Fourier transform of the time-varying electric field.
Because of beaming, the observer sees radiation only for
a short time, when the core of the beam (of half-width 1/)
is pointed at your line of sight:

The result is that E(t) is pulsed

i.e. you see a narrow pulse of E-field

expect spectrum to be broad in frequency

It is straight-forward to show (R&L p. 169-173) that the

width of the pulse of E(t) is

1
t 3
B sin
A

where

gyro frequency of
eB
B

particle in field
mc

pitch angle, angle v makes wrt B

Define CRITICAL FREQUENCY

3 3
C B sin
2

or

3 3
C
B sin
4

Spectrum is broad, cutting off at frequencies >> C

For the highly relativistic case, one can show that the
spectrum for a single particle:

3 e 3 B sin

P( )
F
2
2 mc
C
Where F is a dimensionless function which looks like:

Transition from Cyclotron to Synchrotron Emission

<<1 CYCLOTRON

to
observer

eB
B
mc

Slightly faster

 ~ 1 Highly relativistic

to
observer

Spectral Index for Power-Law Electron Distribution

Often, the observed spectra for synchrotron sources are
power laws
s

P ( )

where

s = spectral index

at least over some particular range of frequencies

Example: on the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of a blackbody spectrum

s = -2

A number of particle acceleration processes yield

a power-law energy distribution for the particles,
particularly
at high velocities
e.g. Fermi acceleration
Maxwell-Boltzman distribution
Non-thermal tail of particle velocities
v
Let N(E) = # particles per vol., with energies between E, E+dE

N ( E )dE CE p dE

Power-law
p = spectral index
C = constant

Turns out that there is a VERY simple relation between

p = spectral index of particle energies
and s = spectral index of observed radiation

p = spectral index of particle energies

and s = spectral index of observed radiation
Since

E mc 2
p

N ( E )dE CE dE

can be written

E2

N ( )d C p d

PTotal ( ) dE N ( E ) P ( , E )
E1

# particles /Vol.
with energy E

(1)

Power/particle with energy

E, emitted at frequency

where E1 and E2 define the range over which the power law holds.

Equivalently, in terms of

PTotal ( ) d N ( ) P ( , )

(2)

where

3 e 3 B sin

P( , )
F
2
2 mc
C

(3)

Inserting (1) and (3) into (2),

change variables by letting

x
C

where

C critical frequency 32 3 B sin

Then

PTotal

( p 1) x2

dx

( p 3)
2

F ( x)

x1

can approximate x1 0, x2
Then the integral is ~constant with

PTotal ( )
So

( p 1)
2

p 1
s
2
Relation between slope of power law of
radiation, s, and particle energy index, p.

Polarization of Synchrotron Radiation

First, consider a single radiating charge
elliptically polarized radiation

Observer

The cone of radiation projects onto an ellipse on the plane of

the sky
Major axis is perpendicular to the projection of B on the sky

 Ensemble of emitters with different

emission cones from each side of line of sight cancel
partial linear polarization
Frequency integrated polarization can be as high as 75%
For a power-law distribution of energies, per cent polarization

p 1

p 73
Linear polarization is perpendicular to direction of B

Synchrotron Self-Absorption
Photon interacts with a charge in a magnetic field and is
absorbed, giving up its energy to the charge
Can also have stimulated emission: a particle is induced to
emit more strongly in a direction and at a frequency at
which there are already photons present.
A straight-forward calculation involving Einstein As and Bs
(R&L pp. 186-190)
yields the absorption coefficient for synchrotron self-absorption
for a power-law distribution of electrons
p /2

3e
3e
( p +2) / 2 3p + 2 3p + 22 ( p +4 ) / 2

C ( B sin)

3 5

12 12
8m 2m
c
3

gamma function

The Source function is simpler:

j
S

P ( )

5 / 2

Independent of p

5/ 2

spectrum dead give-away that synchrotron self-abs.

is what is going on

5
2 which is the Rayleigh-Jeans value
2

Summary:
For optically thin emission
For optically thick

I S

( p 1) / 2

5 / 2

Low-frequency cut-off

( p 1) / 2

Thick
Thin

Synchrotron Radio Sources

Map of sky at 408 MHz (20 cm).

Sources in Milky Way are pulsars, SNe.

Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula, is the
remnant of a supernova in
1054 AD, observed as a
"guest star" by ancient
Chinese astronomers. The
nebula is roughly 10 lightyears across, and it is at a
distance of about 6,000
light years from earth. It
is presently expanding at
about 1000 km per second.
The supernova explosion
left behind a rapidly
spinning neutron star, or a
pulsar is this wind which
energizes the nebula, and
causes it to emit the radio
waves which formed this
image.

Radio emission of M1 = Crab Nebula,

from NRAO web site

IR
Optical

Radio

X-ray
(Chandra)

Crab Nebula Spectral Energy Distribution from Radio to TeV gamma rays
see Aharonian+ 2004 ApJ 614, 897

Synchrotron
Synchrotron
Self-Compton

Synchrotron Lifetimes, for Crab Nebula

Photon
frequency
(Hz)

Electron
Energy
U, (eV)

Electron
lifetime
(Yr)

Radio (0.5
GHz)

5x108

3.0x108

109,000

Optical
(6000A)

5x1014

3.0x1011

109

X-ray (4 keV)

1x1018

1.4x1013

2.4

Gamma Ray

1x1022

1.4x1015

0.024 = 9 days

5.16 1
2 electrondecaytime,sec.
B

for = ,Binteslas
2

Timescales
<< age of Crab
Pulsar is
Replenishing energy

Guess what this is an image of?

Extragalactic radio sources: Very isotropic distribution on the sky

6cm radio sources

right ascension

Milky Way

North Galactic Pole

Blowup of
North
Pole

VLA
Core of jets:
flat spectrum s=0 to .3
Extended lobes:
steep spectrum
s = 0.7-1.2

FR I vs. FR II
On large scales (>15 kpc)
radio sources divide into
Fanaroff-Riley Class I, II
(Fanaroff & Riley 1974
MNRAS 167 31P)
FRI: Low luminosity
edge dark
Ex.:Cen-A
FRII: High luminosity
hot spots on outer edge
Ex. Cygnus A

Lobes are polarized

synchrotron emission with well-ordered B-fields
Polarization is perpendicular to B