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Galishnikova A, Philippov A, Quataert E, Bacchini F, Parfrey K, Ripperda B. Collisionless Accretion onto Black Holes: Dynamics and Flares. Phys Rev Lett 2023; 130:115201. [PMID: 37001105 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.115201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
We study the accretion of collisionless plasma onto a rotating black hole from first principles using axisymmetric general-relativistic particle-in-cell simulations. We carry out a side-by-side comparison of these results to analogous general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Although there are many similarities in the overall flow dynamics, three key differences between the kinetic and fluid simulations are identified. Magnetic reconnection is more efficient, and rapidly accelerates a nonthermal particle population, in our kinetic approach. In addition, the plasma in the kinetic simulations develops significant departures from thermal equilibrium, including pressure anisotropy that excites kinetic-scale instabilities, and a large field-aligned heat flux near the horizon that approaches the free-streaming value. We discuss the implications of our results for modeling event-horizon scale observations of Sgr A* and M87 by GRAVITY and the Event Horizon Telescope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alisa Galishnikova
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - Alexander Philippov
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - Fabio Bacchini
- Centre for mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, Department of Mathematics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200B, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence, Ringlaan 3, 1180 Uccle, Belgium
| | - Kyle Parfrey
- School of Mathematics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Bart Ripperda
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
- School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, 162 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010, USA
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Narayan R, Quataert E. Black holes up close. Nature 2023; 615:597-604. [PMID: 36949335 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05768-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
Recent developments have ushered in a new era in the field of black-hole astrophysics, providing a direct view of the remarkable environment near black-hole event horizons. These observations have enabled astronomers to confirm long-standing ideas on the physics of gas flowing into black holes with temperatures that are hundreds of times greater than at the centre of the Sun. At the same time, the observations have conclusively shown that light rays near a black hole experience large deflections that cause a dark shadow in the centre of the image, an effect predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. With further investment, this field is poised to deliver decades of advances in our understanding of gravity and black holes through stringent tests of general relativity, as well as insights into the role of black holes as the central engines powering a wide range of astronomical phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramesh Narayan
- Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Black Hole Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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3
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Kempski P, Quataert E, Squire J, Kunz MW. Shearing-box simulations of MRI-driven turbulence in weakly collisional accretion discs. Mon Not R Astron Soc 2019; 486:4013-4029. [PMID: 35136273 PMCID: PMC8819626 DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stz1111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We present a systematic shearing-box investigation of MRI-driven turbulence in a weakly collisional plasma by including the effects of an anisotropic pressure stress, i.e. anisotropic (Braginskii) viscosity. We constrain the pressure anisotropy (Δp) to lie within the stability bounds that would be otherwise imposed by kinetic microinstabilities. We explore a broad region of parameter space by considering different Reynolds numbers and magnetic-field configurations, including net vertical flux, net toroidal-vertical flux and zero net flux. Remarkably, we find that the level of turbulence and angular-momentum transport are not greatly affected by large anisotropic viscosities: the Maxwell and Reynolds stresses do not differ much from the MHD result. Angular-momentum transport in Braginskii MHD still depends strongly on isotropic dissipation, e.g., the isotropic magnetic Prandtl number, even when the anisotropic viscosity is orders of magnitude larger than the isotropic diffusivities. Braginskii viscosity nevertheless changes the flow structure, rearranging the turbulence to largely counter the parallel rate of strain from the background shear. We also show that the volume-averaged pressure anisotropy and anisotropic viscous transport decrease with increasing isotropic Reynolds number (Re); e.g., in simulations with net vertical field, the ratio of anisotropic to Maxwell stress (α A/α M) decreases from ~ 0.5 to ~ 0.1 as we move from Re ~ 103 to Re ~ 104, while 〈4πΔp/B 2〉 → 0. Anisotropic transport may thus become negligible at high Re. Anisotropic viscosity nevertheless becomes the dominant source of heating at large Re, accounting for ≳50% of the plasma heating. We conclude by briefly discussing the implications of our results for RIAFs onto black holes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Kempski
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Jonathan Squire
- Department of Physics, University of Otago, 730 Cumberland St, North Dunedin, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Matthew W. Kunz
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
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4
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Abstract
We propose that pressure anisotropy causes weakly collisional turbulent plasmas to self-organize so as to resist changes in magnetic-field strength. We term this effect "magneto-immutability" by analogy with incompressibility (resistance to changes in pressure). The effect is important when the pressure anisotropy becomes comparable to the magnetic pressure, suggesting that in collisionless, weakly magnetized (high-β) plasmas its dynamical relevance is similar to that of incompressibility. Simulations of magnetized turbulence using the weakly collisional Braginskii model show that magneto-immutable turbulence is surprisingly similar, in most statistical measures, to critically balanced MHD turbulence. However, in order to minimize magnetic-field variation, the flow direction becomes more constrained than in MHD, and the turbulence is more strongly dominated by magnetic energy (a nonzero "residual energy"). These effects represent key differences between pressure-anisotropic and fluid turbulence, and should be observable in the β ≳ 1 turbulent solar wind.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Squire
- Physics Department, University of Otago, 730 Cumberland St., Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
- TAPIR, Mailcode 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - A. A. Schekochihin
- The Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3P4, UK
- Merton College, Oxford OX1 4JD, UK
| | - E. Quataert
- Astronomy Department and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - M. W. Kunz
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box 451, Princeton, NJ 08543, USA
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Garrison-Kimmel S, Hopkins PF, Wetzel A, El-Badry K, Sanderson RE, Bullock JS, Ma X, van de Voort F, Hafen Z, Faucher-Giguère CA, Hayward CC, Quataert E, Kereš D, Boylan-Kolchin M. The origin of the diverse morphologies and kinematics of Milky Way-mass galaxies in the FIRE-2 simulations. Mon Not R Astron Soc 2018; 481:4133-4157. [PMID: 30598560 PMCID: PMC6310044 DOI: 10.1093/mnras/sty2513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We use hydrodynamic cosmological zoom-in simulations from the Feedback in Realistic Environments project to explore the morphologies and kinematics of 15 Milky Way (MW)-mass galaxies. Our sample ranges from compact, bulge-dominated systems with 90 per cent of their stellar mass within 2.5 kpc to well-ordered discs that reach ≳15 kpc. The gas in our galaxies always forms a thin, rotation-supported disc at z = 0, with sizes primarily determined by the gas mass. For stars, we quantify kinematics and morphology both via the fraction of stars on disc-like orbits and with the radial extent of the stellar disc. In this mass range, stellar morphology and kinematics are poorly correlated with the properties of the halo available from dark matter-only simulations (halo merger history, spin, or formation time). They more strongly correlate with the gaseous histories of the galaxies: those that maintain a high gas mass in the disc after z ~ 1 develop well-ordered stellar discs. The best predictor of morphology we identify is the spin of the gas in the halo at the time the galaxy formed 1/2 of its stars (i.e. the gas that builds the galaxy). High-z mergers, before a hot halo emerges, produce some of the most massive bulges in the sample (from compact discs in gas-rich mergers), while later-forming bulges typically originate from internal processes, as satellites are stripped of gas before the galaxies merge. Moreover, most stars in z = 0 MW-mass galaxies (even z = 0 bulge stars) form in a disc: ≳60-90 per cent of stars begin their lives rotationally supported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shea Garrison-Kimmel
- TAPIR, California Institute of Technology, Mailcode 350-17, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Philip F. Hopkins
- TAPIR, California Institute of Technology, Mailcode 350-17, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Andrew Wetzel
- TAPIR, California Institute of Technology, Mailcode 350-17, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
- Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kareem El-Badry
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Robyn E. Sanderson
- TAPIR, California Institute of Technology, Mailcode 350-17, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, 550 W 120th St, Mail Code 5246, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - James S. Bullock
- Center for Cosmology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Xiangcheng Ma
- TAPIR, California Institute of Technology, Mailcode 350-17, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Freeke van de Voort
- Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, D-69118, Heidelberg, Germany
- Astronomy Department, Yale University, PO Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101, USA
| | - Zachary Hafen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and CIERA, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Claude-André Faucher-Giguère
- Department of Physics and Astronomy and CIERA, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Christopher C. Hayward
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute, 162 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Dušan Kereš
- Department of Physics, Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Michael Boylan-Kolchin
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, 2515 Speedway, Stop C1400, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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El-Badry K, Bland-Hawthorn J, Wetzel A, Quataert E, Weisz DR, Boylan-Kolchin M, Hopkins PF, Faucher-Giguère CA, Kereš D, Garrison-Kimmel S. Where are the most ancient stars in the Milky Way? Mon Not R Astron Soc 2018; 480:652-668. [PMID: 30581239 PMCID: PMC6301095 DOI: 10.1093/mnras/sty1864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The oldest stars in the Milky Way (MW) bear imprints of the Galaxy's early assembly history. We use FIRE cosmological zoom-in simulations of three MW-mass disc galaxies to study the spatial distribution, chemistry, and kinematics of the oldest surviving stars (z form ≳ 5) in MW-like galaxies. We predict the oldest stars to be less centrally concentrated at z = 0 than stars formed at later times as a result of two processes. First, the majority of the oldest stars are not formed in situ but are accreted during hierarchical assembly. These ex situ stars are deposited on dispersion-supported, halo-like orbits but dominate over old stars formed in situ in the solar neighbourhood, and in some simulations, even in the galactic centre. Secondly, old stars formed in situ are driven outwards by bursty star formation and energetic feedback processes that create a time-varying gravitational potential at z ≳ 2, similar to the process that creates dark matter cores and expands stellar orbits in bursty dwarf galaxies. The total fraction of stars that are ancient is more than an order of magnitude higher for sight lines away from the bulge and inner halo than for inward-looking sight lines. Although the task of identifying specific stars as ancient remains challenging, we anticipate that million-star spectral surveys and photometric surveys targeting metal-poor stars already include hundreds of stars formed before z = 5. We predict most of these targets to have higher metallicity (-3 < [Fe/H] < -2) than the most extreme metal-poor stars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kareem El-Badry
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Joss Bland-Hawthorn
- Miller Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO-3D), Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
- Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Andrew Wetzel
- Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Daniel R. Weisz
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Philip F. Hopkins
- TAPIR, Mailcode 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | | | - Dušan Kereš
- Department of Physics, Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Shea Garrison-Kimmel
- TAPIR, Mailcode 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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El-Badry K, Bradford J, Quataert E, Geha M, Boylan-Kolchin M, Weisz DR, Wetzel A, Hopkins PF, Chan TK, Fitts A, Kereš D, Faucher-Giguére CA. Gas kinematics in FIRE simulated galaxies compared to spatially unresolved HI observations. Mon Not R Astron Soc 2018; 477:1536-1548. [PMID: 30713356 PMCID: PMC6350816 DOI: 10.1093/mnras/sty730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The shape of a galaxy's spatially unresolved, globally integrated 21-cm emission line depends on its internal gas kinematics: galaxies with rotationally supported gas discs produce double-horned profiles with steep wings, while galaxies with dispersion-supported gas produce Gaussian-like profiles with sloped wings. Using mock observations of simulated galaxies from the FIRE project, we show that one can therefore constrain a galaxy's gas kinematics from its unresolved 21-cm line profile. In particular, we find that the kurtosis of the 21-cm line increases with decreasing V/σ and that this trend is robust across a wide range of masses, signal-to-noise ratios, and inclinations. We then quantify the shapes of 21-cm line profiles from a morphologically unbiased sample of ~2000 low-redshift, HI-detected galaxies with Mstar = 107-11 M☉ and compare to the simulated galaxies. At Mstar ≳ 1010 M☉, both the observed and simulated galaxies produce double-horned profiles with low kurtosis and steep wings, consistent with rotationally supported discs. Both the observed and simulated line profiles become more Gaussian like (higher kurtosis and less-steep wings) at lower masses, indicating increased dispersion support. However, the simulated galaxies transition from rotational to dispersion support more strongly: at Mstar 108-10 M, most of the simulations produce more Gaussian-like profiles than typical observed galaxies with similar mass, indicating that gas in the low-mass simulated galaxies is, on average, overly dispersion supported. Most of the lower-mass-simulated galaxies also have somewhat lower gas fractions than the median of the observed population. The simulations nevertheless reproduce the observed line-width baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, which is insensitive to rotational versus dispersion support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kareem El-Badry
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Jeremy Bradford
- Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Marla Geha
- Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | | | - Daniel R. Weisz
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Andrew Wetzel
- Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Philip F. Hopkins
- TAPIR, Mailcode 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - T. K. Chan
- Department of Physics, Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Alex Fitts
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Dušan Kereš
- Department of Physics, Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Squire J, Quataert E, Kunz MW. Pressure-anisotropy-induced nonlinearities in the kinetic magnetorotational instability. J Plasma Phys 2017; 83:905830613. [PMID: 29657337 PMCID: PMC5893179 DOI: 10.1017/s0022377817000940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In collisionless and weakly collisional plasmas, such as hot accretion flows onto compact objects, the magnetorotational instability (MRI) can differ significantly from the standard (collisional) MRI. In particular, pressure anisotropy with respect to the local magnetic-field direction can both change the linear MRI dispersion relation and cause nonlinear modifications to the mode structure and growth rate, even when the field and flow perturbations are very small. This work studies these pressure-anisotropy-induced nonlinearities in the weakly nonlinear, high-ion-beta regime, before the MRI saturates into strong turbulence. Our goal is to better understand how the saturation of the MRI in a low-collisionality plasma might differ from that in the collisional regime. We focus on two key effects: (i) the direct impact of self-induced pressure-anisotropy nonlinearities on the evolution of an MRI mode, and (ii) the influence of pressure anisotropy on the 'parasitic instabilities' that are suspected to cause the mode to break up into turbulence. Our main conclusions are: (i) The mirror instability regulates the pressure anisotropy in such a way that the linear MRI in a collisionless plasma is an approximate nonlinear solution once the mode amplitude becomes larger than the background field (just as in magnetohyrodynamics). This implies that differences between the collisionless and collisional MRI become unimportant at large amplitudes. (ii) The break up of large-amplitude MRI modes into turbulence via parasitic instabilities is similar in collisionless and collisional plasmas. Together, these conclusions suggest that the route to magnetorotational turbulence in a collisionless plasma may well be similar to that in a collisional plasma, as suggested by recent kinetic simulations. As a supplement to these findings, we offer guidance for the design of future kinetic simulations of magnetorotational turbulence.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Squire
- TAPIR, Mailcode 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - E. Quataert
- Astronomy Department and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - M. W. Kunz
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box 451, Princeton, NJ 08543, USA
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Squire J, Kunz MW, Quataert E, Schekochihin AA. Publisher's Note: Kinetic Simulations of the Interruption of Large-Amplitude Shear-Alfvén Waves in a High-β Plasma [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 155101 (2017)]. Phys Rev Lett 2017; 119:179901. [PMID: 29219454 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.119.179901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.155101.
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Kasen D, Metzger B, Barnes J, Quataert E, Ramirez-Ruiz E. Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational-wave event. Nature 2017; 551:80-84. [PMID: 29094687 DOI: 10.1038/nature24453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The cosmic origin of elements heavier than iron has long been uncertain. Theoretical modelling shows that the matter that is expelled in the violent merger of two neutron stars can assemble into heavy elements such as gold and platinum in a process known as rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis. The radioactive decay of isotopes of the heavy elements is predicted to power a distinctive thermal glow (a 'kilonova'). The discovery of an electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational-wave source GW170817 represents the first opportunity to detect and scrutinize a sample of freshly synthesized r-process elements. Here we report models that predict the electromagnetic emission of kilonovae in detail and enable the mass, velocity and composition of ejecta to be derived from observations. We compare the models to the optical and infrared radiation associated with the GW170817 event to argue that the observed source is a kilonova. We infer the presence of two distinct components of ejecta, one composed primarily of light (atomic mass number less than 140) and one of heavy (atomic mass number greater than 140) r-process elements. The ejected mass and a merger rate inferred from GW170817 imply that such mergers are a dominant mode of r-process production in the Universe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Kasen
- Departments of Physics and Astronomy, and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-7300, USA.,Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720-8169, USA
| | - Brian Metzger
- Department of Physics and Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
| | - Jennifer Barnes
- Department of Physics and Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Departments of Physics and Astronomy, and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-7300, USA
| | - Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
- Department of Astronomy, University of Santa Cruz, California, USA.,DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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11
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Squire J, Kunz MW, Quataert E, Schekochihin AA. Kinetic Simulations of the Interruption of Large-Amplitude Shear-Alfvén Waves in a High-β Plasma. Phys Rev Lett 2017; 119:155101. [PMID: 29077437 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.119.155101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Using two-dimensional hybrid-kinetic simulations, we explore the nonlinear "interruption" of standing and traveling shear-Alfvén waves in collisionless plasmas. Interruption involves a self-generated pressure anisotropy removing the restoring force of a linearly polarized Alfvénic perturbation, and occurs for wave amplitudes δB_{⊥}/B_{0}≳β^{-1/2} (where β is the ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure). We use highly elongated domains to obtain maximal scale separation between the wave and the ion gyroscale. For standing waves above the amplitude limit, we find that the large-scale magnetic field of the wave decays rapidly. The dynamics are strongly affected by the excitation of oblique firehose modes, which transition into long-lived parallel fluctuations at the ion gyroscale and cause significant particle scattering. Traveling waves are damped more slowly, but are also influenced by small-scale parallel fluctuations created by the decay of firehose modes. Our results demonstrate that collisionless plasmas cannot support linearly polarized Alfvén waves above δB_{⊥}/B_{0}∼β^{-1/2}. They also provide a vivid illustration of two key aspects of low-collisionality plasma dynamics: (i) the importance of velocity-space instabilities in regulating plasma dynamics at high β, and (ii) how nonlinear collisionless processes can transfer mechanical energy directly from the largest scales into thermal energy and microscale fluctuations, without the need for a scale-by-scale turbulent cascade.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Squire
- Theoretical Astrophysics, 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA and Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California 91125, USA
| | - M W Kunz
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, PO Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
| | - E Quataert
- Astronomy Department and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - A A Schekochihin
- The Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, 1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, United Kingdom and Merton College, Oxford OX1 4JD, United Kingdom
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Anglés-Alcázar D, Faucher-Giguère CA, Quataert E, Hopkins PF, Feldmann R, Torrey P, Wetzel A, Kereš D. Black holes on FIRE: stellar feedback limits early feeding of galactic nuclei. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slx161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Anglés-Alcázar
- CIERA and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Claude-André Faucher-Giguère
- CIERA and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Philip F. Hopkins
- TAPIR, Mailcode 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Robert Feldmann
- Institute for Computational Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, CH-8057, Switzerland
| | - Paul Torrey
- Department of Physics, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Andrew Wetzel
- TAPIR, Mailcode 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
- Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Dušan Kereš
- Department of Physics, CASS, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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Abstract
We present results from the first 3D kinetic numerical simulation of magnetorotational turbulence and dynamo, using the local shearing-box model of a collisionless accretion disk. The kinetic magnetorotational instability grows from a subthermal magnetic field having zero net flux over the computational domain to generate self-sustained turbulence and outward angular-momentum transport. Significant Maxwell and Reynolds stresses are accompanied by comparable viscous stresses produced by field-aligned ion pressure anisotropy, which is regulated primarily by the mirror and ion-cyclotron instabilities through particle trapping and pitch-angle scattering. The latter endow the plasma with an effective viscosity that is biased with respect to the magnetic-field direction and spatiotemporally variable. Energy spectra suggest an Alfvén-wave cascade at large scales and a kinetic-Alfvén-wave cascade at small scales, with strong small-scale density fluctuations and weak nonaxisymmetric density waves. Ions undergo nonthermal particle acceleration, their distribution accurately described by a κ distribution. These results have implications for the properties of low-collisionality accretion flows, such as that near the black hole at the Galactic center.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew W Kunz
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543, USA
| | - James M Stone
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, 501 Campbell Hall #3411, Berkeley, California 94720-3411, USA
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14
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Bale SD, Goetz K, Harvey PR, Turin P, Bonnell JW, de Wit TD, Ergun RE, MacDowall RJ, Pulupa M, Andre M, Bolton M, Bougeret JL, Bowen TA, Burgess D, Cattell CA, Chandran BDG, Chaston CC, Chen CHK, Choi MK, Connerney JE, Cranmer S, Diaz-Aguado M, Donakowski W, Drake JF, Farrell WM, Fergeau P, Fermin J, Fischer J, Fox N, Glaser D, Goldstein M, Gordon D, Hanson E, Harris SE, Hayes LM, Hinze JJ, Hollweg JV, Horbury TS, Howard RA, Hoxie V, Jannet G, Karlsson M, Kasper JC, Kellogg PJ, Kien M, Klimchuk JA, Krasnoselskikh VV, Krucker S, Lynch JJ, Maksimovic M, Malaspina DM, Marker S, Martin P, Martinez-Oliveros J, McCauley J, McComas DJ, McDonald T, Meyer-Vernet N, Moncuquet M, Monson SJ, Mozer FS, Murphy SD, Odom J, Oliverson R, Olson J, Parker EN, Pankow D, Phan T, Quataert E, Quinn T, Ruplin SW, Salem C, Seitz D, Sheppard DA, Siy A, Stevens K, Summers D, Szabo A, Timofeeva M, Vaivads A, Velli M, Yehle A, Werthimer D, Wygant JR. The FIELDS Instrument Suite for Solar Probe Plus: Measuring the Coronal Plasma and Magnetic Field, Plasma Waves and Turbulence, and Radio Signatures of Solar Transients. Space Sci Rev 2016; 204:49-82. [PMID: 29755144 PMCID: PMC5942226 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-016-0244-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
NASA's Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission will make the first in situ measurements of the solar corona and the birthplace of the solar wind. The FIELDS instrument suite on SPP will make direct measurements of electric and magnetic fields, the properties of in situ plasma waves, electron density and temperature profiles, and interplanetary radio emissions, amongst other things. Here, we describe the scientific objectives targeted by the SPP/FIELDS instrument, the instrument design itself, and the instrument concept of operations and planned data products.
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Affiliation(s)
- S D Bale
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - K Goetz
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - P R Harvey
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - P Turin
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J W Bonnell
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - T Dudok de Wit
- LPC2E, CNRS, 3A avenue de la Recherche Scientifique, Orléans, France
| | - R E Ergun
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - R J MacDowall
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - M Pulupa
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - M Andre
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - M Bolton
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | - T A Bowen
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D Burgess
- Astronomy Unit, Queen Mary, University of London, London, UK
| | - C A Cattell
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - B D G Chandran
- Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - C C Chaston
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - C H K Chen
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - M K Choi
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J E Connerney
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - S Cranmer
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - M Diaz-Aguado
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - W Donakowski
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J F Drake
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - W M Farrell
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - P Fergeau
- LPC2E, CNRS, 3A avenue de la Recherche Scientifique, Orléans, France
| | - J Fermin
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J Fischer
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - N Fox
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - D Glaser
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - M Goldstein
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - D Gordon
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - E Hanson
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - S E Harris
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - L M Hayes
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J J Hinze
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - J V Hollweg
- Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - T S Horbury
- Department of Physics, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - R A Howard
- Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA
| | - V Hoxie
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - G Jannet
- LPC2E, CNRS, 3A avenue de la Recherche Scientifique, Orléans, France
| | - M Karlsson
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - J C Kasper
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - P J Kellogg
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - M Kien
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - J A Klimchuk
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | | | - S Krucker
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J J Lynch
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | | | - D M Malaspina
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - S Marker
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - P Martin
- LPC2E, CNRS, 3A avenue de la Recherche Scientifique, Orléans, France
| | | | - J McCauley
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D J McComas
- Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - T McDonald
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - M Moncuquet
- LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France
| | - S J Monson
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - F S Mozer
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - S D Murphy
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J Odom
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - R Oliverson
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J Olson
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - E N Parker
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - D Pankow
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - T Phan
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - E Quataert
- Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - T Quinn
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - C Salem
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D Seitz
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D A Sheppard
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - A Siy
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - K Stevens
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - D Summers
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - A Szabo
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - M Timofeeva
- LPC2E, CNRS, 3A avenue de la Recherche Scientifique, Orléans, France
| | - A Vaivads
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - M Velli
- Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angelos, CA, USA
| | - A Yehle
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - D Werthimer
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J R Wygant
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Fuller J, Cantiello M, Lecoanet D, Quataert E. ERRATUM: “THE SPIN RATE OF PRE-COLLAPSE STELLAR CORES: WAVE-DRIVEN ANGULAR MOMENTUM TRANSPORT IN MASSIVE STARS” (2015, ApJ, 810, 101). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1088/0004-637x/815/2/137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Jiang(姜燕飞) YF, Cantiello M, Bildsten L, Quataert E, Blaes O. LOCAL RADIATION HYDRODYNAMIC SIMULATIONS OF MASSIVE STAR ENVELOPES AT THE IRON OPACITY PEAK. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1088/0004-637x/813/1/74] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Fuller J, Cantiello M, Lecoanet D, Quataert E. THE SPIN RATE OF PRE-COLLAPSE STELLAR CORES: WAVE-DRIVEN ANGULAR MOMENTUM TRANSPORT IN MASSIVE STARS. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1088/0004-637x/810/2/101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Lecoanet D, Le Bars M, Burns KJ, Vasil GM, Brown BP, Quataert E, Oishi JS. Numerical simulations of internal wave generation by convection in water. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys 2015; 91:063016. [PMID: 26172801 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.91.063016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Water's density maximum at 4°C makes it well suited to study internal gravity wave excitation by convection: an increasing temperature profile is unstable to convection below 4°C, but stably stratified above 4°C. We present numerical simulations of a waterlike fluid near its density maximum in a two-dimensional domain. We successfully model the damping of waves in the simulations using linear theory, provided we do not take the weak damping limit typically used in the literature. To isolate the physical mechanism exciting internal waves, we use the spectral code dedalus to run several simplified model simulations of our more detailed simulation. We use data from the full simulation as source terms in two simplified models of internal-wave excitation by convection: bulk excitation by convective Reynolds stresses, and interface forcing via the mechanical oscillator effect. We find excellent agreement between the waves generated in the full simulation and the simplified simulation implementing the bulk excitation mechanism. The interface forcing simulations overexcite high-frequency waves because they assume the excitation is by the "impulsive" penetration of plumes, which spreads energy to high frequencies. However, we find that the real excitation is instead by the "sweeping" motion of plumes parallel to the interface. Our results imply that the bulk excitation mechanism is a very accurate heuristic for internal-wave generation by convection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Lecoanet
- Department of Astrophysics and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
| | - Michael Le Bars
- CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Ecole Centrale Marseille, IRPHE, Marseille 13013, France
- Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Keaton J Burns
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Geoffrey M Vasil
- School of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Benjamin P Brown
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Department of Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astrophysics and Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Oishi
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
- Department of Physics, Farmingdale State College, Farmingdale, New York 11735, USA
- Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York 10024, USA
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19
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Riquelme MA, Quataert E, Verscharen D. PARTICLE-IN-CELL SIMULATIONS OF CONTINUOUSLY DRIVEN MIRROR AND ION CYCLOTRON INSTABILITIES IN HIGH BETA ASTROPHYSICAL AND HELIOSPHERIC PLASMAS. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1088/0004-637x/800/1/27] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Quataert E, Shiode J. Wave-driven mass loss in the last year of stellar evolution: setting the stage for the most luminous core-collapse supernovae. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2012.01264.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 240] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Howes GG, TenBarge JM, Dorland W, Quataert E, Schekochihin AA, Numata R, Tatsuno T. Gyrokinetic simulations of solar wind turbulence from ion to electron scales. Phys Rev Lett 2011; 107:035004. [PMID: 21838370 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.107.035004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
A three-dimensional, nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation of plasma turbulence resolving scales from the ion to electron gyroradius with a realistic mass ratio is presented, where all damping is provided by resolved physical mechanisms. The resulting energy spectra are quantitatively consistent with a magnetic power spectrum scaling of k(-2.8) as observed in in situ spacecraft measurements of the "dissipation range" of solar wind turbulence. Despite the strongly nonlinear nature of the turbulence, the linear kinetic Alfvén wave mode quantitatively describes the polarization of the turbulent fluctuations. The collisional ion heating is measured at subion-Larmor radius scales, which provides evidence of the ion entropy cascade in an electromagnetic turbulence simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- G G Howes
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA.
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Bloom JS, Giannios D, Metzger BD, Cenko SB, Perley DA, Butler NR, Tanvir NR, Levan AJ, O' Brien PT, Strubbe LE, De Colle F, Ramirez-Ruiz E, Lee WH, Nayakshin S, Quataert E, King AR, Cucchiara A, Guillochon J, Bower GC, Fruchter AS, Morgan AN, van der Horst AJ. A Possible Relativistic Jetted Outburst from a Massive Black Hole Fed by a Tidally Disrupted Star. Science 2011; 333:203-6. [PMID: 21680812 DOI: 10.1126/science.1207150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 396] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua S. Bloom
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Dimitrios Giannios
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Brian D. Metzger
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - S. Bradley Cenko
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Daniel A. Perley
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Nathaniel R. Butler
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Nial R. Tanvir
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Andrew J. Levan
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Paul T. O' Brien
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Linda E. Strubbe
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Fabio De Colle
- Astronomy and Astrophysics Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
- Astronomy and Astrophysics Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - William H. Lee
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-264, Ciudad Universitaria, México DF 04510
| | - Sergei Nayakshin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Eliot Quataert
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- Theoretical Astrophysics Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Andrew R. King
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Antonino Cucchiara
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- Computational Cosmology Center, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - James Guillochon
- Astronomy and Astrophysics Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Geoffrey C. Bower
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
- Radio Astronomy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Andrew S. Fruchter
- Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Adam N. Morgan
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA
| | - Alexander J. van der Horst
- Universities Space Research Association, National Space Science and Technology Center, 320 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, AL 35805, USA
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Bale SD, Kasper JC, Howes GG, Quataert E, Salem C, Sundkvist D. Magnetic fluctuation power near proton temperature anisotropy instability thresholds in the solar wind. Phys Rev Lett 2009; 103:211101. [PMID: 20366024 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.103.211101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2009] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The proton temperature anisotropy in the solar wind is known to be constrained by the theoretical thresholds for pressure-anisotropy-driven instabilities. Here, we use approximately 1x10;{6} independent measurements of gyroscale magnetic fluctuations in the solar wind to show for the first time that these fluctuations are enhanced along the temperature anisotropy thresholds of the mirror, proton oblique firehose, and ion cyclotron instabilities. In addition, the measured magnetic compressibility is enhanced at high plasma beta (beta_{ parallel} greater, similar1) along the mirror instability threshold but small elsewhere, consistent with expectations of the mirror mode. We also show that the short wavelength magnetic fluctuation power is a strong function of collisionality, which relaxes the temperature anisotropy away from the instability conditions and reduces correspondingly the fluctuation power.
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Affiliation(s)
- S D Bale
- Physics Department and Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
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Howes GG, Cowley SC, Dorland W, Hammett GW, Quataert E, Schekochihin AA. A model of turbulence in magnetized plasmas: Implications for the dissipation range in the solar wind. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1029/2007ja012665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 253] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- G. G. Howes
- Department of Astronomy; University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley California USA
| | - S. C. Cowley
- Department of Physics and Astronomy; University of California, Los Angeles; Los Angeles California USA
- Plasma Physics Group; Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London; London UK
| | - W. Dorland
- Department of Physics, IREAP, and Center for Scientific Computing and Mathematical Modeling; University of Maryland; College Park Maryland USA
| | - G. W. Hammett
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; Princeton New Jersey USA
| | - E. Quataert
- Department of Astronomy; University of California, Berkeley; Berkeley California USA
| | - A. A. Schekochihin
- Plasma Physics Group; Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London; London UK
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Howes GG, Dorland W, Cowley SC, Hammett GW, Quataert E, Schekochihin AA, Tatsuno T. Kinetic simulations of magnetized turbulence in astrophysical plasmas. Phys Rev Lett 2008; 100:065004. [PMID: 18352484 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.100.065004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2007] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
This Letter presents the first ab initio, fully electromagnetic, kinetic simulations of magnetized turbulence in a homogeneous, weakly collisional plasma at the scale of the ion Larmor radius (ion gyroscale). Magnetic- and electric-field energy spectra show a break at the ion gyroscale; the spectral slopes are consistent with scaling predictions for critically balanced turbulence of Alfvén waves above the ion gyroscale (spectral index -5/3) and of kinetic Alfvén waves below the ion gyroscale (spectral indices of -7/3 for magnetic and -1/3 for electric fluctuations). This behavior is also qualitatively consistent with in situ measurements of turbulence in the solar wind. Our findings support the hypothesis that the frequencies of turbulent fluctuations in the solar wind remain well below the ion cyclotron frequency both above and below the ion gyroscale.
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Affiliation(s)
- G G Howes
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
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Bucciantini N, Quataert E, Arons J, Metzger BD, Thompson TA. Relativistic jets and long-duration gamma-ray bursts from the birth of magnetars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2007.00403.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Abstract
Black holes are most often detected by the radiation produced when they gravitationally pull in surrounding gas, in a process called accretion. The efficiency with which the hot gas radiates its thermal energy strongly influences the geometry and dynamics of the accretion flow. Both radiatively efficient thin disks and radiatively inefficient thick disks are observed. When the accreting gas gets close to the central black hole, the radiation it produces becomes sensitive to the spin of the hole and the presence of an event horizon. Analysis of the luminosities and spectra of accreting black holes has yielded tantalizing evidence for both rotating holes and event horizons. Numerical simulations imply that the relativistic jets often seen from accreting black holes may be powered in part by the spin of the hole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramesh Narayan
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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30
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Quataert E, Narayan R, Ho LC. Possible Evidence for Truncated Thin Disks in the Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei M81 and NGC 4579. Astrophys J 1999; 525:L89-L92. [PMID: 10525461 DOI: 10.1086/312353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
M81 and NGC 4579 are two of the few low-luminosity active galactic nuclei that have an estimated mass for the central black hole, detected hard X-ray emission, and detected optical/UV emission. In contrast to the canonical "big blue bump," both have optical/UV spectra that decrease with increasing frequency in a nuLnu plot. Barring significant reddening by dust and/or large errors in the black hole mass estimates, the optical/UV spectra of these systems require that the inner edge of a geometrically thin, optically thick accretion disk lies at approximately 100 Schwarzschild radii. The observed X-ray radiation can be explained by an optically thin, two-temperature, advection-dominated accretion flow at smaller radii.
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