303 research outputs found
Application of the MHD energy principle to magnetostatic atmospheres
The MHD energy principle is applied to the stability of a magnetized atmosphere which is bounded below by much denser fluid, as is the solar corona. The two fluids are treated as ideal; the approximation is consistent with the energy principle, and the dynamical conditions that must hold at a fluid-fluid interface are used to show that if vertical displacements of the lower boundary are premitted, then the lower atmosphere must be perturbed as well. However, displacements which do not perturb the coronal boundary can be properly treated as isolated perturbations of the corona alone
Environments for Magnetic Field Amplification by Cosmic Rays
We consider a recently discovered class of instabilities, driven by cosmic
ray streaming, in a variety of environments. We show that although these
instabilities have been discussed primarily in the context of supernova driven
interstellar shocks, they can also operate in the intergalactic medium and in
galaxies with weak magnetic fields, where, as a strong source of helical
magnetic fluctuations, they could contribute to the overall evolution of the
magnetic field. Within the Milky Way, these instabilities are strongest in warm
ionized gas, and appear to be weak in hot, low density gas unless the injection
efficiency of cosmic rays is very high.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures; Accepted to Ap
The Fermi Bubbles: Gamma-ray, Microwave, and Polarization Signatures of Leptonic AGN Jets
The origin of the Fermi bubbles and the microwave haze is yet to be
determined. To disentangle different models requires detailed comparisons
between theoretical predictions and multi-wavelength observations. Our previous
simulations have demonstrated that the primary features of the Fermi bubbles
could be successfully reproduced by recent jet activity from the central active
galactic nucleus (AGN). In this work, we generate gamma-ray and microwave maps
and spectra based on the simulated properties of cosmic rays (CRs) and magnetic
fields in order to examine whether the observed bubble and haze emission could
be explained by leptons contained in the AGN jets. We also investigate the
model predictions of the polarization properties of the Fermi bubbles. We find
that: (1) The same population of leptons can simultaneously explain the bubble
and haze emission given that the magnetic fields within the bubbles are very
close to the exponentially distributed ambient field, which can be explained by
mixing in of the ambient field followed by turbulent field amplification; (2)
The centrally peaked microwave profile suggests CR replenishment, which is
consistent with the presence of a more recent second jet event; (3) The bubble
interior exhibits a high degree of polarization because of ordered radial
magnetic field lines stretched by elongated vortices behind the shocks;
highly-polarized signals could also be observed inside the draping layer; (4)
Enhancement of rotation measures could exist within the shock-compressed layer
because of increased gas density and more amplified and ordered magnetic
fields. We discuss the possibility that the deficient haze emission at b<-35
degrees is due to the suppression of magnetic fields, which is consistent with
the existence of lower-energy CRs causing the polarized emission at 2.3 GHz.
Possible AGN jet composition in the leptonic scenario is also discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, matched with MNRAS published versio
Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability in a Weakly Ionized Medium
Ambient interstellar material may become entrained in outflows from massive
stars as a result of shear flow instabilities. We study the linear theory of
the Kelvin - Helmholtz instability, the simplest example of shear flow
instability, in a partially ionized medium. We model the interaction as a two
fluid system (charged and neutral) in a planar geometry. Our principal result
is that for much of the relevant parameter space, neutrals and ions are
sufficiently decoupled that the neutrals are unstable while the ions are held
in place by the magnetic field. Thus, we predict that there should be a
detectably narrower line profile in ionized species tracing the outflow
compared with neutral species since ionized species are not participating in
the turbulent interface with the ambient ISM. Since the magnetic field is
frozen to the plasma, it is not tangled by the turbulence in the boundary
layer.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure
Magnetoelliptic Instabilities
We consider the stability of a configuration consisting of a vertical
magnetic field in a planar flow on elliptical streamlines in ideal
hydromagnetics. In the absence of a magnetic field the elliptical flow is
universally unstable (the ``elliptical instability''). We find this universal
instability persists in the presence of magnetic fields of arbitrary strength,
although the growthrate decreases somewhat. We also find further instabilities
due to the presence of the magnetic field. One of these, a destabilization of
Alfven waves, requires the magnetic parameter to exceed a certain critical
value. A second, involving a mixing of hydrodynamic and magnetic modes, occurs
for all magnetic-field strengths. These instabilities may be important in
tidally distorted or otherwise elliptical disks. A disk of finite thickness is
stable if the magnetic fieldstrength exceeds a critical value, similar to the
fieldstrength which suppresses the magnetorotational instability.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa
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