101 research outputs found
MHD numerical simulations of colliding winds in massive binary systems - I. Thermal vs non-thermal radio emission
In the past few decades detailed observations of radio and X-rays emission
from massive binary systems revealed a whole new physics present in such
systems. Both thermal and non-thermal components of this emission indicate that
most of the radiation at these bands originates in shocks. OB and WR stars
present supersonic and massive winds that, when colliding, emit largely due to
the free-free radiation. The non-thermal radio and X-ray emissions are due to
synchrotron and inverse compton processes, respectively. In this case, magnetic
fields are expected to play an important role on the emission distribution. In
the past few years the modeling of the free-free and synchrotron emissions from
massive binary systems have been based on purely hydrodynamical simulations,
and ad hoc assumptions regarding the distribution of magnetic energy and the
field geometry. In this work we provide the first full MHD numerical
simulations of wind-wind collision in massive binary systems. We study the
free-free emission characterizing its dependence on the stellar and orbital
parameters. We also study self-consistently the evolution of the magnetic field
at the shock region, obtaining also the synchrotron energy distribution
integrated along different lines of sight. We show that the magnetic field in
the shocks is larger than that obtained when the proportionality between
and the plasma density is assumed. Also, we show that the role of the
synchrotron emission relative to the total radio emission has been
underestimated.Comment: MNRAS accepte
Turbulence and the formation of filaments, loops and shock fronts in NGC 1275 in the Perseus Galaxy Cluster
NGC1275, the central galaxy in the Perseus cluster, is the host of gigantic
hot bipolar bubbles inflated by AGN jets observed in the radio as Perseus A. It
presents a spectacular -emitting nebulosity surrounding NGC1275,
with loops and filaments of gas extending to over 50 kpc. The origin of the
filaments is still unknown, but probably correlates with the mechanism
responsible for the giant buoyant bubbles. We present 2.5 and 3-dimensional MHD
simulations of the central region of the cluster in which turbulent energy,
possibly triggered by star formation and supernovae (SNe) explosions is
introduced. The simulations reveal that the turbulence injected by massive
stars could be responsible for the nearly isotropic distribution of filaments
and loops that drag magnetic fields upward as indicated by recent observations.
Weak shell-like shock fronts propagating into the ICM with velocities of
100-500 km/s are found, also resembling the observations. The isotropic outflow
momentum of the turbulence slows the infall of the intracluster medium, thus
limiting further starburst activity in NGC1275. As the turbulence is subsonic
over most of the simulated volume, the turbulent kinetic energy is not
efficiently converted into heat and additional heating is required to suppress
the cooling flow at the core of the cluster. Simulations combining the MHD
turbulence with the AGN outflow can reproduce the temperature radial profile
observed around NGC1275. While the AGN mechanism is the main heating source,
the supernovae are crucial to isotropize the energy distribution.Comment: accepted by ApJ Letter
Dynamo in the Intra-Cluster Medium: Simulation of CGL-MHD Turbulent Dynamo
The standard magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) description of the plasma in the hot,
magnetized gas of the intra-cluster (ICM) medium is not adequate because it is
weakly collisional. In such collisionless magnetized gas, the microscopic
velocity distribution of the particles is not isotropic, giving rise to kinetic
effects on the dynamical scales. These kinetic effects could be important in
understanding the turbulence, as so as the amplification and maintenance of the
magnetic fields in the ICM. It is possible to formulate fluid models for
collisonless or weakly collisional gas by introducing modifications in the MHD
equations. These models are often referred as kinetic MHD (KMHD). Using a KMHD
model based on the CGL-closure, which allows the adiabatic evolution of the two
components of the pressure tensor (the parallel and perpendicular components
with respect to the local magnetic field), we performed 3D numerical
simulations of forced turbulence in order to study the amplification of an
initially weak seed magnetic field. We found that the growth rate of the
magnetic energy is comparable to that of the ordinary MHD turbulent dynamo, but
the magnetic energy saturates in a level smaller than of the MHD case. We also
found that a necessary condition for the dynamo works is to impose limits to
the anisotropy of the pressure.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, 274 IAU Symposium: Advances in Plasma Astrophysic
Features of collisionless turbulence in the intracluster medium from simulated Faraday Rotation maps
Observations of the intracluster medium (ICM) in galaxy clusters suggest for
the presence of turbulence and the magnetic fields existence has been proved
through observations of Faraday Rotation and synchrotron emission. The ICM is
also known to be filled by a rarefied weakly collisional plasma. In this work
we study the possible signatures left on Faraday Rotation maps by collisionless
instabilities. For this purpose we use a numerical approach to investigate the
dynamics of the turbulence in collisionless plasmas based on an
magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) formalism taking into account different levels of
pressure anisotropy. We consider models covering the sub/super-Alfv\'enic and
trans/supersonic regimes, one of them representing the fiducial conditions
corresponding to the ICM. From the simulated models we compute Faraday Rotation
maps and analyze several statistical indicators in order to characterize the
magnetic field structure and compare the results obtained with the
collisionless model to those obtained using standard collisional MHD framework.
We find that important imprints of the pressure anisotropy prevails in the
magnetic field and also manifest in the associated Faraday Rotation maps which
evidence smaller correlation lengths in the collisionless MHD case. These
points are remarkably noticeable for the case mimicking the conditions
prevailing in ICM. Nevertheless, in this study we have neglected the decrease
of pressure anisotropy due to the feedback of the instabilities that naturally
arise in collisionless plasmas at small scales. This decrease may not affect
the statistical imprint differences described above, but should be examined
elsewhere.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures, MNRAS accepte
MHD turbulence-Star Formation Connection: from pc to kpc scales
The transport of magnetic flux to outside of collapsing molecular clouds is a
required step to allow the formation of stars. Although ambipolar diffusion is
often regarded as a key mechanism for that, it has been recently argued that it
may not be efficient enough. In this review, we discuss the role that MHD
turbulence plays in the transport of magnetic flux in star forming flows. In
particular, based on recent advances in the theory of fast magnetic
reconnection in turbulent flows, we will show results of three-dimensional
numerical simulations that indicate that the diffusion of magnetic field
induced by turbulent reconnection can be a very efficient mechanism, especially
in the early stages of cloud collapse and star formation. To conclude, we will
also briefly discuss the turbulence-star formation connection and feedback in
different astrophysical environments: from galactic to cluster of galaxy
scales.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 274 IAU Symposium: Advances in Plasma
Astrophysic
On the magnetic structure and wind parameter profiles of Alfven wave driven winds in late-type supergiant stars
Cool stars at giant and supergiant evolutionary phases present low velocity
and high density winds, responsible for the observed high mass-loss rates.
Although presenting high luminosities, radiation pressure on dust particles is
not sufficient to explain the wind acceleration process. Among the possible
solutions to this still unsolved problem, Alfven waves are, probably, the most
interesting for their high efficiency in transfering energy and momentum to the
wind. Typically, models of Alfven wave driven winds result in high velocity
winds if they are not highly damped. In this work we determine
self-consistently the magnetic field geometry and solve the momentum, energy
and mass conservation equations, to demonstrate that even a low damped Alfven
wave flux is able to reproduce the low velocity wind. We show that the magnetic
fluxtubes expand with a super-radial factor S>30 near the stellar surface,
larger than that used in previous semi-empirical models. The rapid expansion
results in a strong spatial dilution of the wave flux. We obtained the wind
parameter profiles for a typical supergiant star of 16 M_sun. The wind is
accelerated in a narrow region, coincident with the region of high divergence
of the magnetic field lines, up to 100 km/s. For the temperature, we obtained a
slight decrease near the surface for low damped waves, because the wave heating
mechanism is less effective than the radiative losses. The peak temperature
occurs at 1.5 r_0 reaching 6000 K. Propagating outwards, the wind cools down
mainly due to adiabatic expansion.Comment: to appear in the MNRA
Features of collisionless turbulence in the intracluster medium from simulated Faraday rotation maps - II. The effects of instabilities feedback
Statistical analysis of Faraday rotation measure (RM) maps of the intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters provides a unique tool to evaluate some spatial features of the magnetic fields there. Its combination with numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence allows the diagnosis of the ICM turbulence. Being the ICM plasma weakly collisional, the thermal velocity distribution of the particles naturally develops anisotropies as a consequence of the large-scale motions and the conservation of the magnetic moment of the charged particles. A previous study (Paper I) analysed the impact of large-scale thermal anisotropy on the statistics of RM maps synthesized from simulations of turbulence; these simulations employed a collisionless MHD model that considered a tensor pressure with uniform anisotropy. In this work, we extend that analysis to a collisionless MHD model in which the thermal anisotropy develops according to the conservation of the magnetic moment of the thermal particles. We also consider the effect of anisotropy relaxation caused by the microscale mirror and firehose instabilities. We show that if the relaxation rate is fast enough to keep the anisotropy limited by the threshold values of the instabilities, the dispersion and power spectrum of the RM maps are indistinguishable from those obtained from collisional MHD. Otherwise, there is a reduction in the dispersion and steepening of the power spectrum of the RM maps (compared to the collisional case). Considering the first scenario, the use of collisional MHD simulations for modelling the RM statistics in the ICM becomes better justified.Fil: Lima, R. Santos. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Pino, E. M. de Gouveia Dal. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Falceta Gonçalves, D. A.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Nakwacki, Maria Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes CientÃficas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de AstronomÃa y FÃsica del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de AstronomÃa y FÃsica del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Kowal, G.. Universidade Cruzeiro Do Sul; . Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi
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