Transport of magnetic fields and cosmic rays in the turbulent interstellar medium

• Grant number: 22/10102-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium
• Principal Investigator: Reinaldo Santos de Lima
• Grantee: Camila Naomi Koshikumo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Turbulence, magnetic fields and cosmic rays are present in the interstellar medium of the Galaxy and are strongly connected through complex plasma processes, such as turbulent dynamo, the scattering and acceleration of cosmic rays by turbulence, the generation of turbulence by instabilities produced by the cosmic rays. Indeed, turbulence can control the transport of magnetic fields and cosmic rays. The transport of magnetic flux in molecular clouds is a key ingredient to understanding different processes involved in star formation, and the transport of cosmic rays in the surroundings of supernova shocks is also critical to understanding how the process of galactic cosmic rays acceleration happens. Even the prediction and interpretation of the radiation produced by cosmic rays depends on understanding how they are transported in the interstellar medium. There are several open questions about these astrophysical phenomena. In this project, we will study the basic mechanisms of magnetic flux transport in the presence of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence (MHD), and how cosmic rays diffusing in front of a shock can amplify magnetic fields and influence the very efficiency of confinement and acceleration of these particles in this region. We will develop numerical experiments through MHD 3D and Particle-in-Cell-MHD 2D simulations to quantitatively characterize the effects of turbulence on the transport of magnetic fields and particles.