Turbulence and Particle Acceleration in Shearing Flows

Abstract

We explore constraints imposed by shear-driven instabilities on the acceleration of energetic particles in relativistic shearing flows. We show that shearing layers in large-scale AGN jets are likely to encompass a sizeable fraction ($\geq 0.1$) of the jet radius, requiring seed injection of GeV electrons for efficient acceleration. While the diffusion process may depend on pre-developed turbulence if injection occurs at higher energies, electron acceleration to PeV and proton acceleration to EeV energies appears possible within the constraints imposed by jet stability.