Effect of Acceleration and Escape of Energetic Particles on Spectral Steepening at Shocks

Abstract

Energetic particles spectra at interplanetary shocks often exhibit a power law within a narrow momentum range softening at higher energy. We introduce a transport equation accounting for particle acceleration and escape with diffusion contributed by self-generated turbulence close to the shock and by preexisting turbulence far upstream. The upstream particle intensity steepens within one diffusion length from the shock as compared with diffusive shock acceleration rollover. The momentum spectrum, controlled by macroscopic parameters such as shock compression, speed, far-upstream diffusion coefficient, and escape time at the shock, can be reduced to a log-parabola and also to a broken power law. In the case of upstream uniform diffusion coefficient, the largely used power-law/exponential cutoff solution is retrieved. © 2021. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..