2008/06/12 by Ian J. Parrish, James M. Stone, M. Nicole Lemaster +1 · 7 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/592380
Submitted to ApJ
arxiv created 2008/06/12 · openalex publication_date 2008/11/17 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The electron mean free path in the intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters is much larger than the gyroradius; thus, heat is transported anisotropically along magnetic field lines. We show that the intracluster medium is unstable to the magnetothermal instability (MTI) where the temperature declines with radius using MHD simulations with anisotropic thermal conduction. As a result of the MTI, we find that the temperature profile of the ICM can be substantially modified on timescales of several billion years, while the magnetic field is amplified by dynamo action up to more than 50 times the original energy. We also show that the instability drives field lines to become preferentially radial, leading to conduction that is a highly efficient fraction of the Spitzer conductivity.