Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Nov 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002aps..dppar1001e&link_type=abstract
American Physical Society, 44th Annual Meeting of the Division of Plasma , abstract #AR1.001
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
Clusters of galaxies are the largest self-gravitating structures in the universe. Each cluster is filled with a large-scale plasma atmosphere, in which primordial matter is mixed with matter that has been processed inside stars. This magnetized cluster plasma contains both thermal and relativistic species, and is a wonderful laboratory for applying ideas and tools developed in other arenas of plasma physics. Understanding this plasma requires good detective work. The data we obtain from radio and X-ray telescopes is by no means a perfect plasma probe. Before we can use our data to extend space or terrestrial plasma physics to the cluster environment, we must determine basic quantites such as density and temperature. Recent work reveals a relativistic component in the plasma, and first measurements of the intracluster magnetic field have now been made. Energization of the particles and the field must be related to the cosmological evolution of the cluster. Microphysical processes such as collisional heat transport and particle diffusion can also be studied with the new data. The hunt for such plasma clues in clusters is just beginning. The situation is made even richer by the rare galaxies in each cluster which host radio jets. In these galaxies, electrodynamics near a massive black hole in the core of the galaxy lead to a collimated plasma beam which propagates from the nucleus out to supergalactic scales. These jets, which may be dominated by relativistic, electron-position plasma, interact with the cluster plasma to form the structures known as radio galaxies. The interaction also disturbs and energizes the cluster plasma. This complicates our detective work but also helps us understand both the radio jets and the cluster plasma.
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