2011/08/05 by T. W. Jones, David H. Porter, Jones, T. W. +5
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1108.1369
openalex publication_date 2011/08/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The gaseous media of galaxy clusters and cosmic filaments, which constitute most of the baryonic matter in the universe, is highly dynamic. It is also probably turbulent, although the turbulence properties are poorly known. The gas is highly rarefied, essentially fully ionized plasma. Observational evidence suggests intracluster media (ICMs) are magnetized at some level. There are several possible origins for ICM seed fields; the observed fields are likely the result of turbulence in the ICM. We are engaged in a simulation study designed to understand in this context how very weak initial magnetic fields evolve in driven turbulence. We find that the magnetic fields eventually evolve towards equipartition levels with the vortical, solenoidal kinetic energy in the turbulence. As they do so the topology of the field structures transition from filamentary forms into ribbon-like structures in which the field orientations are laminated with vorticity structures.