Ion Heating in Pair-loaded Relativistic Turbulence
Abstract
Pair-loaded relativistic turbulence is expected in compact high-energy astrophysical environments and may sustain plasma heating. Using self-consistent three-dimensional radiative particle-in-cell simulations, we identify the mechanism of ion heating mediated by pair-enhanced radiative feedback in relativistic turbulence. We derive the theoretical criterion for the transition to a regime dominated by radiative feedback and show that pair loading promotes the growth and persistence of large, connected optically thick structures. These long-lived structures sustain intense localized ion heating, repeatedly generating prominent hot-ion clumps and substantially enhancing the mean ion temperature. Our results establish a physical link between pair creation and sustained ion heating, providing a theoretical basis for investigating intermittent hot-ion production in black-hole coronae and gamma-ray burst outflows.
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BibTeX
@misc{wang2026heating,
title = {{Ion Heating in Pair-loaded Relativistic Turbulence}},
author = {Yusen Wang and Zhonghai Zhao and Xinyu Zhu and Xianxu Jin and Zhipeng Zhang and Bin Qiao},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.26731},
eprint = {2610.26731},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.26731},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Ion Heating in Pair-loaded Relativistic Turbulence
AU - Yusen Wang
AU - Zhonghai Zhao
AU - Xinyu Zhu
AU - Xianxu Jin
AU - Zhipeng Zhang
AU - Bin Qiao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.26731
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.26731
AB - Pair-loaded relativistic turbulence is expected in compact high-energy astrophysical environments and may sustain plasma heating. Using self-consistent three-dimensional radiative particle-in-cell simulations, we identify the mechanism of ion heating mediated by pair-enhanced radiative feedback in relativistic turbulence. We derive the theoretical criterion for the transition to a regime dominated by radiative feedback and show that pair loading promotes the growth and persistence of large, connected optically thick structures. These long-lived structures sustain intense localized ion heating, repeatedly generating prominent hot-ion clumps and substantially enhancing the mean ion temperature. Our results establish a physical link between pair creation and sustained ion heating, providing a theoretical basis for investigating intermittent hot-ion production in black-hole coronae and gamma-ray burst outflows.
ER -