Cluster magnetic fields from large-scale-structure and galaxy-cluster shocks
Astrophysics
2009-11-11 v1
Abstract
The origin of the micro-Gauss magnetic fields in galaxy clusters is one of the outstanding problem of modern cosmology. We have performed three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations of the nonrelativistic Weibel instability in an electron-proton plasma, in conditions typical of cosmological shocks. These simulations indicate that cluster fields could have been produced by shocks propagating through the intergalactic medium during the formation of large-scale structure or by shocks within the cluster. The strengths of the shock-generated fields range from tens of nano-Gauss in the intercluster medium to a few micro-Gauss inside galaxy clusters.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0512079,
title = {Cluster magnetic fields from large-scale-structure and galaxy-cluster shocks},
author = {Mikhail V. Medvedev and Luis O. Silva and Marc Kamionkowski},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0512079},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
4 pages, 2 color figures