Speaker
Description
Magnetic fields are ubiquitous in relativistic outflows and are expected to play a central role in the acceleration of nonthermal particles. In recent years, particle-in-cell studies have shown that the current-driven kink instability can efficiently convert magnetic energy into energetic particles, but this picture has largely been developed for kinetic scales, highly magnetized plasmas, and regions close to the compact object. In this talk, we explore how the same instability can extend to the large, MHD scales of mildly magnetized (low-$\sigma$) jets. Motivated by recent LHAASO observations of the eastern lobe of SS 433, which indicate a highly ordered magnetic field aligned with the jet flow, we perform high-resolution 3D relativistic MHD simulations that couple jet dynamics, particle energization, and polarized synchrotron ray tracing. We follow how large-scale kink modes reshape the jet morphology, redistribute magnetic flux, and trigger favorable conditions for efficient particle acceleration. Overall, our results suggest that large-scale kink instability may has the potential to accelerate particles up to ~PeV energies in relativistic outflows.
