Turbulence, plasma instabilities, transport and magnetogenesis in galaxy clusters
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Oxford Physics
Abstract
The clusters of galaxies are the largest structured objects in the Universe. Most of the luminous matter contained in clusters is in the form of ionised gas, or plasma (called the intracluster medium, or ICM). This plasma is believed to be in a turbulent state, i.e., it is moving in a disordered fashion. It is also permeated by tangled magnetic fields, which impart a certain elasticity to the plasma motions and also alter the motion of individual particles. All large scale processes in clusters - such as, for example, the propagation of waves and shocks, formation and movement of 'bubbles' blown by the active galaxies in cluster cores etc. - occur in this turbulent magnetised medium and are profoundly affected by it. This proposal is for an investigation of the fundamental physical properties of the ICM: what kind of turbulent motions and electromagnetic fluctuations exist in it? how is the energy of ICM motions dissipated into heat? how is heat trnasported across clusters? what is the origin and structure of magnetic fields in clusters? All these questions must be faced in order for us to be able to make sense of the rapidly increasing amount of observational evidence (obtained with radiotelescopes and with X-ray satellite observatories) and also to develop correct numerical models of clusters. More broadly, the problem of turbulence, which is at the centre of this research, is an exciting and formidable intellectual challenge, sometimes referred to as the last great unsolvedx problem of classical physics. Intertwined with the problem of magnetogenesis (the origin of cosmic magnetism), it continues to inspire both theoretical physicists and astronomers.
Organisations
Publications
Dapp W
(2012)
Bridging the gap: disk formation in the Class 0 phase with ambipolar diffusion and Ohmic dissipation
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Samtaney R.
(2012)
Plasmoid dynamics in 3D resistive MHD simulations of magnetic reconnection
in EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
Vaivads A
(2011)
EIDOSCOPE: particle acceleration at plasma boundaries
in Experimental Astronomy
NAZARENKO S
(2011)
Critical balance in magnetohydrodynamic, rotating and stratified turbulence: towards a universal scaling conjecture
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
PLUNK G
(2010)
Two-dimensional gyrokinetic turbulence
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Oliver M
(2017)
Magneto-optic probe measurements in low density-supersonic jets
in Journal of Instrumentation
Kunz M
(2015)
Inertial-range kinetic turbulence in pressure-anisotropic astrophysical plasmas
in Journal of Plasma Physics
Forest C
(2015)
The Wisconsin Plasma Astrophysics Laboratory
in Journal of Plasma Physics
Komarov S
(2016)
Polarization of thermal bremsstrahlung emission due to electron pressure anisotropy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kunz M
(2011)
A thermally stable heating mechanism for the intracluster medium: turbulence, magnetic fields and plasma instabilities Thermally stable heating of the ICM
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhuravleva I
(2016)
The nature and energetics of AGN-driven perturbations in the hot gas in the Perseus Cluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Melville S
(2016)
Pressure-anisotropy-driven microturbulence and magnetic-field evolution in shearing, collisionless plasma
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Churazov E
(2016)
Arithmetic with X-ray images of galaxy clusters: effective equation of state for small-scale perturbations in the ICM
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mogavero F
(2014)
Models of magnetic field evolution and effective viscosity in weakly collisional extragalactic plasmas
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Waelkens A
(2009)
Probing magnetic turbulence by synchrotron polarimetry: statistics and structure of magnetic fields from Stokes correlators
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Rosin M
(2011)
A non-linear theory of the parallel firehose and gyrothermal instabilities in a weakly collisional plasma Theory of firehose and gyrothermal instabilities
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Chen C
(2011)
Anisotropy of Alfvénic turbulence in the solar wind and numerical simulations Anisotropy of Alfvénic turbulence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zhuravleva I
(2015)
Gas density fluctuations in the Perseus Cluster: clumping factor and velocity power spectrum
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Churazov E
(2012)
X-ray surface brightness and gas density fluctuations in the Coma cluster X-ray surface brightness fluctuations in the Coma cluster
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Komarov S
(2016)
Thermal conduction in a mirror-unstable plasma
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Komarov S
(2014)
Suppression of local heat flux in a turbulent magnetized intracluster medium
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mallet A
(2016)
Measures of three-dimensional anisotropy and intermittency in strong Alfvénic turbulence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Churazov E
(2013)
Powering of cool filaments in cluster cores by buoyant bubbles - I. Qualitative model
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Kunz M
(2011)
Dynamical stability of a thermally stratified intracluster medium with anisotropic momentum and heat transport Dynamical stability of the ICM
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Schekochihin A
(2010)
Magnetofluid dynamics of magnetized cosmic plasma: firehose and gyrothermal instabilities
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Mallet A
(2015)
Refined critical balance in strong Alfvénic turbulence
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Rincon F
(2015)
Non-linear mirror instability
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Wicks R
(2010)
Power and spectral index anisotropy of the entire inertial range of turbulence in the fast solar wind
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Loureiro N
(2009)
Turbulent magnetic reconnection in two dimensions
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Zhuravleva I
(2014)
Turbulent heating in galaxy clusters brightest in X-rays.
in Nature
Meinecke J
(2014)
Turbulent amplification of magnetic fields in laboratory laser-produced shock waves
in Nature Physics
Chen CH
(2010)
Anisotropy of solar wind turbulence between ion and electron scales.
in Physical review letters
Wicks RT
(2013)
Alignment and scaling of large-scale fluctuations in the solar wind.
in Physical review letters
Wicks R
(2011)
Anisotropy of Imbalanced Alfvénic Turbulence in Fast Solar Wind
in Physical Review Letters
Loureiro NF
(2013)
Fast collisionless reconnection and electron heating in strongly magnetized plasmas.
in Physical review letters
Howes GG
(2011)
Gyrokinetic simulations of solar wind turbulence from ion to electron scales.
in Physical review letters
Uzdensky DA
(2010)
Fast magnetic reconnection in the plasmoid-dominated regime.
in Physical review letters
Tatsuno T
(2009)
Nonlinear Phase Mixing and Phase-Space Cascade of Entropy in Gyrokinetic Plasma Turbulence
in Physical Review Letters
Samtaney R
(2009)
Formation of plasmoid chains in magnetic reconnection.
in Physical review letters
Squire J
(2017)
Kinetic Simulations of the Interruption of Large-Amplitude Shear-Alfvén Waves in a High-ß Plasma.
in Physical review letters
Heinemann T
(2011)
Large-scale magnetic field generation by randomly forced shearing waves.
in Physical review letters
Kunz M
(2014)
Firehose and Mirror Instabilities in a Collisionless Shearing Plasma
in Physical Review Letters
Loureiro NF
(2013)
Plasmoid and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in Sweet-Parker current sheets.
in Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics
Schekochihin AA
(2012)
Weak Alfvén-wave turbulence revisited.
in Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics
Loureiro N
(2012)
Magnetic reconnection and stochastic plasmoid chains in high-Lundquist-number plasmas
in Physics of Plasmas
Barnes M
(2009)
Linearized model Fokker-Planck collision operators for gyrokinetic simulations. II. Numerical implementation and tests
in Physics of Plasmas
Zocco A
(2011)
Reduced fluid-kinetic equations for low-frequency dynamics, magnetic reconnection, and electron heating in low-beta plasmas
in Physics of Plasmas
Enßlin T
(2010)
Magnetic turbulence in clusters of galaxies
in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
Meinecke J
(2015)
Developed turbulence and nonlinear amplification of magnetic fields in laboratory and astrophysical plasmas.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Rincon F
(2016)
Turbulent dynamo in a collisionless plasma.
in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Description | The publication list reflects the key findings. |
Exploitation Route | Some theories and methods that were developed carry over to bordering disciplines and areas of activity, most importantly magnetic fusion research. |
Sectors | Energy |