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Physics of Plasmas / Volume 10 / Issue 5 / REVIEW, TUTORIAL, AND INVITED PAPERS FROM THE 44TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE APS DIVISION OF PLASMA PHYSICS / REVIEW PAPERS

Phys. Plasmas 10, 1539 (2003); doi:10.1063/1.1558991 (10 pages)

Plasma physics in clusters of galaxies

Jean A. Eilek

Department of Physics, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico 87801

(Received 7 November 2002; accepted 7 January 2003)

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 is a wonderful plasma physics laboratory. Our diagnostics are the data we obtain from x-ray and radio telescopes. The thermal plasma is a strong x-ray source; from this we determine its density and temperature. Radio data reveal 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. The situation is made even richer by the few galaxies in each cluster that 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 interact with the cluster plasma to form the structures known as radio galaxies. The interaction disturbs and energizes the cluster plasma. This complicates the story but also helps us understand both the radio jets and the cluster plasma. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.

© 2003 American Institute of Physics

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KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

clusters of galaxies, intergalactic magnetic fields, astrophysical plasma, radiogalaxies, plasma density, plasma temperature, relativistic plasmas, galactic nuclei, black holes, X-ray sources (astronomical), cosmology, astrophysical jets

PACS

  • 98.65.Cw

    Galaxy clusters

  • 98.65.Hb

    Intracluster matter; cooling flows

  • 95.30.Qd

    Magnetohydrodynamics and plasmas

  • 98.62.Nx

    Jets and bursts; galactic winds and fountains

  • 98.54.Gr

    Radio galaxies

  • 98.62.Js

    Galactic nuclei (including black holes), circumnuclear matter, and bulges

  • 52.27.Ny

    Relativistic plasmas

  • 98.70.Qy

    X-ray sources; X-ray bursts

  • 98.80.Es

    Observational cosmology (including Hubble constant, distance scale, cosmological constant, early Universe, etc)

  • 98.58.Fd

    Jets, outflows and bipolar flows

ARTICLE DATA

Permalink
http://link.aip.org/link/doi/10.1063/1.1558991

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN:

1070-664X (print)  
1089-7674 (online)

Publisher:

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef American Institute of Physics

For access to fully linked references, you need to log in.
    S. A. Colgate, H. Li, and V. Pariev, Phys. Plasmas 8, 2425 (2001)PHPAEN000008000005002425000001.


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