Astrophysicists explore our galaxy's magnetic turbulence in unprecedented detail using a new computer model

The spectrum of magnetized turbulence in the interstellar medium

The interstellar medium (ISM) of our Galaxy is magnetized, compressible and turbulent, influencing many key ISM properties, such as star formation, cosmic-ray transport, and metal and phase mixing. Yet, basic statistics describing compressible, magnetized turbulence remain uncertain. Utilizing grid resolutions up to 10,0803 cells, we simulated highly compressible, magnetized ISM-style turbulence with a magnetic field maintained by a small-scale …

Astrophysicists explore our galaxy's magnetic turbulence in unprecedented detail using a new computer model

Astronomers have developed a computer simulation to explore, in unprecedented detail, magnetism and turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM)—the vast ocean of gas and charged particles that lies between stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

Tens of thousands of computers. That's what it took the physicists to simulate the turbulence in our Galaxy. And they made unexpected discoveries.

Astrophysicists explore our galaxy's magnetic turbulence in unprecedented detail using a new computer model - Science Tech Updates

“Turbulence remains one of the greatest unsolved problems in classical mechanics,” says James Beattie, a postdoctoral researcher at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) in the Faculty of Arts & Science at the University of Toronto, who also holds a joint appointment at Princeton University. “This despite the fact that turbulence is ubiquitous: from […] The post Astrophysicists explore our galaxy’s magnetic turbulence in unp…

Astrophysicists explore our galaxy’s magnetic turbulence in unprecedented detail using a new computer model

A 2D slice of the world’s largest turbulence simulation, revealing the fractal structure of the density, shown in yellow, black and red, and magnetic field, shown in white. Credit: Simulation: J. Beattie. Astronomers have developed a computer simulation to explore, …

Turbulences are everywhere, in the ocean, the atmosphere, and throughout the universe. Indeed, turbulence determines the behavior of plasma, stars, and magnetic fields of the universe but, despite their ubiquity, they are one of the greatest unresolved questions of physics.The entry A computer model simulates turbulence in the galaxy with unprecedented precision was first published in Digital Process.