3 research outputs found
The role of magnetic fields in the interstellar medium
PhD ThesisThe dynamical role of magnetic elds in the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies
has been widely debated since their discovery approximately seventy years ago. I
investigate the possible dynamical role of magnetic elds in the ISM, using numerical
simulations of both a region of a spiral galaxy and of individual supernova (SN)
explosions. In the galaxy simulations, the magnetic eld evolves from a weak seed-
eld via dynamo action, in a manner consistent with the internal gas dynamics of
the simulated ISM. I nd that the magnetic eld, and particularly its coherentlystructured
large-scale component, evolves spatially in such a way as to avoid the
hottest, most violently turbulent regions of the ISM, where SN explosions inject
large amounts of energy and produce strong shocks in the surrounding gas. The
large-scale magnetic eld is especially sensitive to the hot gas, strongly preferring
to reside in the more hospitable warm gas.
I also nd that the magnetic eld produces feedback on the local gas dynamics. The
main e ect is that large-scale out
ows, characterised by the mean vertical velocity
of gas which represents gas
owing vertically out of the galactic disc, are damped
by magnetic pressure gradient close to the galactic midplane, as the magnetic eld
becomes dynamically signi cant. This also e ects the vertical distribution of gas
density and gas pressure; gas density becomes more homogeneous close to the midplane
but decays more strongly, with vertical distance away from the midplane,
further away from the midplane. I also nd that while the fractional volume of hot
gas decreases by up to an order of magnitude from the early to the late stage of the
numerical simulation, the hot gas becomes more dense.
Following this, I present results from high-resolution numerical simulations of individual
SN remnants to understand possible e ects of the magnetic eld on the
main energy injection mechanism for galaxies. I use models that are purely hydrodynamical
(HD) as a baseline for comparison with magnetohydrodynamical (MHD)
simulations, to ascertain the e ects of magnetic elds. I nd that magnetic elds alter
both physical and thermodynamical properties of these simulated SN remnants.
The remnant shocks propagate faster perpendicular to the magnetic eld, resulting
from magnetic pressure gradient. Inward momentum injection is also enhanced for
MHD remnants, resulting in mass loss from the shock inwards towards the remnant
core. As a result, the remnant core is magnetically con ned, which reduces
the e ciency of heat loss due to adiabatic expansion. Thus, the hot, di use gas in
the remnant core remains hotter and becomes more dense throughout the evolution
of the remnant. This in agreement with the change to the fractional volume and
density of hot gas found in the larger-scale simulations of the ISM presented in this
Thesis
Separating the scales in a compressible interstellar medium
We apply Gaussian smoothing to obtain mean density, velocity, magnetic and
energy density fields in simulations of the interstellar medium based on
three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic equations in a shearing box
in size. Unlike alternative averaging procedures,
such as horizontal averaging, Gaussian smoothing retains the three-dimensional
structure of the mean fields. Although Gaussian smoothing does not obey the
Reynolds rules of averaging, physically meaningful central statistical moments
are defined as suggested by Germano (1992). We discuss methods to identify an
optimal smoothing scale and the effects of this choice on the results.
From spectral analysis of the magnetic, density and velocity fields, we find a
suitable smoothing length for all three fields, of . We discuss the properties of third-order statistical moments in
fluctuations of kinetic energy density in compressible flows and suggest their
physical interpretation. The mean magnetic field, amplified by a mean-field
dynamo, significantly alters the distribution of kinetic energy in space and
between scales, reducing the magnitude of kinetic energy at intermediate
scales. This intermediate-scale kinetic energy is a useful diagnostic of the
importance of SN-driven outflows