Search for: All records

Abstract Electron cyclotron waves (whistlers) are commonly observed in plasmas near Earth and the solar wind. In the presence of nonlinear mirror modes, bursts of whistlers, usually called lion roars, have been observed within low magnetic field regions associated with these modes. In the intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters, the excitation of the mirror instability is expected, but it is not yet clear whether electron and ion cyclotron (IC) waves can also be present under conditions where gas pressure dominates over magnetic pressure (highβ). In this work, we perform fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of a plasma subject to a continuous amplification of the mean magnetic fieldB(t) to study the nonlinear stages of the mirror instability and the ensuing excitation of whistler and IC waves under ICM conditions. Once mirror modes reach nonlinear amplitudes, both whistler and IC waves start to emerge simultaneously, with subdominant amplitudes, propagating in low-Bregions, quasi-parallel toB(t). We show that the underlying source of excitation is the pressure anisotropy of electrons and ions trapped in mirror modes with loss-cone-type distributions. We also observe that IC waves play an essential role in regulating the ion pressure anisotropy at nonlinear stages. We argue that whistler and IC waves are a concomitant feature at late stages of the mirror instability even at highβ, and therefore, expected to be present in astrophysical environments like the ICM. We discuss the implications of our results for collisionless heating and dissipation of turbulence in the ICM. 

Abstract In a seminal paper, Parker showed the vertical stratification of the interstellar medium (ISM) is unstable if magnetic fields and cosmic rays provide too large a fraction of pressure support. Cosmic ray acceleration is linked to star formation, so Parker’s instability and its nonlinear outcomes are a type of star formation feedback. Numerical simulations have shown the instability can significantly restructure the ISM, thinning the thermal gas layer and thickening the magnetic field and cosmic ray layer. However, the timescale on which this occurs is rather long (∼0.4 Gyr). Furthermore, the conditions for instability depend on the model adopted for cosmic ray transport. In this work, we connect the instability and feedback problems by examining the effect of a single, spatially and temporally localized cosmic ray injection on the ISM over ∼1 kpc³scales. We perform cosmic ray magnetohydrodynamic simulations using theAthena++code, varying the background properties, dominant cosmic ray transport mechanism, and injection characteristics between our simulation runs. We find robust effects of buoyancy for all transport models, with disruption of the ISM on timescales as short as 100 Myr when the background equilibrium is dominated by cosmic ray pressure. 

Abstract In galaxy clusters, the intracluster medium (ICM) is expected to host a diffuse, long-lived, and invisible population of “fossil” cosmic-ray electrons (CRe) with 1–100 MeV energies. These CRe, if reaccelerated by 100× in energy, can contribute synchrotron luminosity to cluster radio halos, relics, and phoenices. Reacceleration may be aided by CRe scattering upon the ion-Larmor-scale waves that spawn when ICM is compressed, dilated, or sheared. We study CRe scattering and energy gain due to ion cyclotron (IC) waves generated by continuously driven compression in 1D fully kinetic particle-in-cell simulations. We find that pitch-angle scattering of CRe by IC waves induces energy gain via magnetic pumping. In an optimal range of IC-resonant momenta, CRe may gain up to ∼10%–30% of their initial energy in one compression/dilation cycle with magnetic field amplification ∼3–6×, assuming adiabatic decompression without further scattering and averaging over initial pitch angle. 

Abstract Cosmic rays have been shown to be extremely important in the dynamics of diffuse gas in galaxies, helping to maintain hydrostatic equilibrium, and serving as a regulating force in star formation. In this paper, we address the influence of cosmic rays on galaxies by re-examining the theory of a cosmic ray Eddington limit, first proposed by Socrates et al. and elaborated upon by Crocker et al. and Huang & Davis. A cosmic ray Eddington limit represents a maximum cosmic ray energy density above which the interstellar gas cannot be in hydrostatic equilibrium, resulting in a wind. In this paper, we continue to explore the idea of a cosmic ray Eddington limit by introducing a general framework that accounts for the circumgalactic environment and applying it to five galaxies that we believe to be a good representative sample of the star-forming galaxy population, using different cosmic ray transport models to determine what gives each galaxy the best chance to reach this limit. We show that, while an Eddington limit for cosmic rays does exist, for our five galaxies, the limit either falls at star formation rates that are much larger or gas densities that are much lower than each galaxy’s measured values. This suggests that cosmic ray pressure is not the main factor limiting the luminosity of starburst galaxies. 

Abstract Turbulence driven by active galactic nuclei activity, cluster mergers, and galaxy motion constitutes an attractive energy source for heating the intracluster medium (ICM). How this energy dissipates into the ICM plasma remains unclear, given its low collisionality and high magnetization (precluding viscous heating by Coulomb processes). Kunz et al. proposed a viable heating mechanism based on the anisotropy of the plasma pressure under ICM conditions. The present paper builds upon that work and shows that particles can be heated by large-scale turbulent fluctuations via magnetic pumping. We study how the anisotropy evolves under a range of forcing frequencies, what waves and instabilities are generated, and demonstrate that the particle distribution function acquires a high-energy tail. For this, we perform particle-in-cell simulations where we periodically vary the mean magnetic fieldB(t). WhenB(t) grows (dwindles), a pressure anisotropyP_⊥>P_∥(P_⊥<P_∥) builds up (P_⊥andP_∥are, respectively, the pressures perpendicular and parallel toB(t)). These pressure anisotropies excite mirror (P_⊥>P_∥) and oblique firehose (P_∥>P_⊥) instabilities, which trap and scatter the particles, limiting the anisotropy, and providing a channel to heat the plasma. The efficiency of this mechanism depends on the frequency of the large-scale turbulent fluctuations and the efficiency of the scattering the instabilities provide in their nonlinear stage. We provide a simplified analytical heating model that captures the phenomenology involved. Our results show that this process can be relevant in dissipating and distributing turbulent energy at kinetic scales in the ICM.