Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Nov 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998aps..dppr8tu03z&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, Division of Plasma Physics Meeting, November 16-20, 1998 New Orleans, LA, abstract #R8TU.03
Physics
Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
The morphology and evolution of galaxies is determined to a great extent by the structure and energy balance of the gas within them. In disk galaxies such as the Milky Way, the interstellar medium is turbulent, magnetized, and contains a population of relativistic particles (cosmic rays) in addition to its thermal component, the latter ranging in temperature from 10^circK to more than 10^7circK. Some of the most challenging problems of interstellar astrophysics, including star formation, the evolution of supernova remnants, and the acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays are plasma physics problems which involve basic processes such as the nature of MHD turbulence, the structure of collisionless shocks, magnetic reconnection, and transport phenomena. Not only must these phenomena be understood in extreme environments, but effects not always encountered in laboratory plasmas, such as radiation, charged dust grains, compressibility, and self gravity come into play. And, the interstellar medium is a plasma without walls. I will discuss some plasma physics problems encountered in the theory of star formation, with emphasis on the behavior of magnetic fields in highly conducting but weakly ionized media. Partial ionization is of overwhelming importance in removing magnetic flux from interstellar clouds, which appears to occur during star formation. It also leads to novel features such as the local relaxation of the magnetic field to a force free state, to the development of current sheets, which may promote rapid magnetic reconnection, and to a instability which can fragment clouds into smaller units, accelerate the rate of flux removal, and provide a free energy source for turbulent motions.
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