scholarly journals Magnetism in the Early Universe

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (A30) ◽  
pp. 295-298
Author(s):  
Tina Kahniashvili ◽  
Axel Brandenburg ◽  
Arthur Kosowsky ◽  
Sayan Mandal ◽  
Alberto Roper Pol

AbstractBlazar observations point toward the possible presence of magnetic fields over intergalactic scales of the order of up to ∼1 Mpc, with strengths of at least ∼10−16 G. Understanding the origin of these large-scale magnetic fields is a challenge for modern astrophysics. Here we discuss the cosmological scenario, focussing on the following questions: (i) How and when was this magnetic field generated? (ii) How does it evolve during the expansion of the universe? (iii) Are the amplitude and statistical properties of this field such that they can explain the strengths and correlation lengths of observed magnetic fields? We also discuss the possibility of observing primordial turbulence through direct detection of stochastic gravitational waves in the mHz range accessible to LISA.

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 529-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Battaner ◽  
Estrella Florido

AbstractThere is increasing evidence that intense magnetic fields exist at large redshifts. They could arise after galaxy formation or in very early processes, such as inflation or cosmological phase transitions, or both. Early co-moving magnetic strengths in the range 1-10 nG could be present at recombination. The possibilities to detect them in future CMB experiments are discussed, mainly considering their impact in the anisotropy spectra as a result of Faraday rotation and Alfven waves. Magnetic fields this magnitude could also have a non-negligible influence in determining the filamentary large scale structure of the Universe.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 1441005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael A. Porto

At first glance, the (indirect) measurement of primordial tensor modes by the BICEP2 Collaboration supports an inflationary paradigm for early universe cosmology together with quantum vacuum fluctuations (aka gravitons) as the origin of the spectrum. In this paper, we argue the observed signal may instead be a signature of semiclassical sources of perturbations during inflation. In this scenario, despite a large tensor-to-scalar ratio r ≃ 0.2, it may be possible to write an effective field theory (EFT) of a rolling scalar field without super-Planckian excursions. If the results from BICEP2 withstand further scrutiny, measurements of primordial non-Gaussianity with large scale structure surveys, and direct detection of gravitational waves (GWs) with the new generation of observatories, will be of paramount importance to elucidate the (quantum) origin of structure in the universe.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Garrison

Numerical simulations are becoming a more effective tool for conducting detailed investigations into the evolution of our universe. In this paper, we show how the framework of numerical relativity can be used for studying cosmological models. The author is working to develop a large-scale simulation of the dynamical processes in the early universe. These take into account interactions of dark matter, scalar perturbations, gravitational waves, magnetic fields, and turbulent plasma. The code described in this report is a GRMHD code based on the Cactus framework and is structured to utilize one of several different differencing methods chosen at run-time. It is being developed and tested on the University of Houston’s Maxwell cluster.


Galaxies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Kunze

Magnetic fields are observed on a large range of scales in the universe. Up until recently, the evidence always pointed to magnetic fields associated with some kind of structure, from planets to clusters of galaxies. Blazar observations have been used to posit the first evidence of truly cosmological magnetic fields or void magnetic fields. A cosmological magnetic field generated in the very early universe before recombination has implications for the cosmic microwave background (CMB), large scale structure as well as the 21 cm line signal. In particular, the Lorentz term causes a change in the linear matter power spectrum. Its implication on the 21 cm line signal was the focus of our recent simulations which will be summarised here. Modelling the cosmological magnetic field as a gaussian random field numerical solutions were found for magnetic fields with present day amplitudes of 5 nG and negative spectral indices which are within the range of observational constraints imposed by the cosmic microwave background (CMB).


2003 ◽  
Vol 214 ◽  
pp. 303-308
Author(s):  
Han-Shu Chu ◽  
L. B. Baath ◽  
Fu-Jun Zhang ◽  
R. E. Spencer

Magnetic Fields are the crucial and most important ingredient involved in the processes of various violent activities in Active Galactic Nuclei and other celestial bodies. The generally accepted 2-sided symmetric-jets model of active galactic nuclei (AGN) does not include the magnetic fields. We present here the first direct detection of helical magnetic field in AGN, and the first direct detection of ejection of large scale magnetic fields from AGN. (CME) 2. The annular (helical) magnetic field is responsible for the collimation of the jet (through Pinch Effect) and may be of crucial importance for extraction of black hole rotational energy. 3. The CMEs are responsible for sporadic ejection of jet components in AGN, while the general accepted 2-sided jets pertain to the quiescent Jets. 4. Observations show that the CME with Asymmetric Jets can explain many phenomena and much of the morphological diversities in AGN.


1992 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 81-86
Author(s):  
R. Wielebinski

AbstractMagnetic fields are present in every corner of the Universe. The Earth, the Sun and most of the planets are known to possess dipolar magnetic fields. In the Galaxy many individual objects like stars, pulsars, bipolar nebulae and supernova remnants are found to have associated magnetic fields. It seems that the rotation plays a significant role in the ability of a cosmic object to develop a magnetic field. The magnetic field of the Galaxy is observed to be oriented along the galactic plane as evidenced by both optical and radio polarization observations. Radio maps of the Galactic centre reveal poloidal magnetic fields as ‘wisps’ or ‘strings’ around Sagittarius A. Observations of nearby galaxies give us remarkable information about the large-scale magnetic fields in these building blocks of the Universe. Magnetic fields play an important role in the formation of jets of radio galaxies. Further out, in clusters of galaxies, definitive evidence has been given for the existence of intergalactic magnetic fields.


2005 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 1839-1854 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. B. SEMIKOZ ◽  
D. D. SOKOLOFF

Role of cosmological magnetic field and cosmological magnetic helicity for astrophysics is considered. We discuss possible mechanisms for cosmological magnetic field production in the early universe as well as upper observational estimate for such field. The general conclusion is that a substantial cosmological field with a non-vanishing magnetic helicity can be generated in the early universe and survive up to the epoch of galaxy formation.


Author(s):  
David M. Wittman

General relativity explains much more than the spacetime around static spherical masses.We briefly assess general relativity in the larger context of physical theories, then explore various general relativistic effects that have no Newtonian analog. First, source massmotion gives rise to gravitomagnetic effects on test particles.These effects also depend on the velocity of the test particle, which has substantial implications for orbits around black holes to be further explored in Chapter 20. Second, any changes in the sourcemass ripple outward as gravitational waves, and we tell the century‐long story from the prediction of gravitational waves to their first direct detection in 2015. Third, the deflection of light by galaxies and clusters of galaxies allows us to map the amount and distribution of mass in the universe in astonishing detail. Finally, general relativity enables modeling the universe as a whole, and we explore the resulting Big Bang cosmology.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S254) ◽  
pp. 95-96
Author(s):  
Arthur M. Wolfe ◽  
Regina A. Jorgenson ◽  
Timothy Robishaw ◽  
Carl Heiles ◽  
Jason X. Prochaska

AbstractThe magnetic field pervading our Galaxy is a crucial constituent of the interstellar medium: it mediates the dynamics of interstellar clouds, the energy density of cosmic rays, and the formation of stars (Beck 2005). The field associated with ionized interstellar gas has been determined through observations of pulsars in our Galaxy. Radio-frequency measurements of pulse dispersion and the rotation of the plane of linear polarization, i.e., Faraday rotation, yield an average value B ≈ 3 μG (Han et al. 2006). The possible detection of Faraday rotation of linearly polarized photons emitted by high-redshift quasars (Kronberg et al. 2008) suggests similar magnetic fields are present in foreground galaxies with redshifts z > 1. As Faraday rotation alone, however, determines neither the magnitude nor the redshift of the magnetic field, the strength of galactic magnetic fields at redshifts z > 0 remains uncertain.Here we report a measurement of a magnetic field of B ≈ 84 μG in a galaxy at z =0.692, using the same Zeeman-splitting technique that revealed an average value of B = 6 μG in the neutral interstellar gas of our Galaxy (Heiles et al. 2004). This is unexpected, as the leading theory of magnetic field generation, the mean-field dynamo model, predicts large-scale magnetic fields to be weaker in the past, rather than stronger (Parker 1970).The full text of this paper was published in Nature (Wolfe et al. 2008).


Data ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Evgeny Mikhailov ◽  
Daniela Boneva ◽  
Maria Pashentseva

A wide range of astrophysical objects, such as the Sun, galaxies, stars, planets, accretion discs etc., have large-scale magnetic fields. Their generation is often based on the dynamo mechanism, which is connected with joint action of the alpha-effect and differential rotation. They compete with the turbulent diffusion. If the dynamo is intensive enough, the magnetic field grows, else it decays. The magnetic field evolution is described by Steenbeck—Krause—Raedler equations, which are quite difficult to be solved. So, for different objects, specific two-dimensional models are used. As for thin discs (this shape corresponds to galaxies and accretion discs), usually, no-z approximation is used. Some of the partial derivatives are changed by the algebraic expressions, and the solenoidality condition is taken into account as well. The field generation is restricted by the equipartition value and saturates if the field becomes comparable with it. From the point of view of mathematical physics, they can be characterized as stable points of the equations. The field can come to these values monotonously or have oscillations. It depends on the type of the stability of these points, whether it is a node or focus. Here, we study the stability of such points and give examples for astrophysical applications.


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