The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetic Fields

Author(s)

Rafael da Silva de Souza

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto Astronômico e Geofísico (IAG/SBD)
• Defense date: 2009-06-26

Examining board members

Reuven Opher; Diego Antonio Falceta Gonçalves; Vera Jatenco Silva Pereira; Elisabete Maria de Gouveia Dal Pino; Ioav Waga

• Advisor: Reuven Opher

Abstract

Magnetic fields of intensities $\\sim \\mu$G are observed both in our galaxy and in high redshift (\\emph{z}) galaxies, where a mean field dynamo would not had time to produce them. Therefore, a primordial origin is indicated. It has been suggested that magnetic fields were created at various primordial eras: during inflation, the electroweak phase transition, the quark-hadron phase transition (QHPT), during the formation of the first objects, and during reionization. We suggest here that the magnetic fields observed in galaxies by Faraday Rotation Measurements (FRMs), have their origin in the electromagnetic fluctuations that naturally occurred in the dense hot plasma that existed just after the QHPT. We evolve the predicted fields to the present time. The size of the region containing a coherent magnetic field increased due to the fusion of smaller regions. Magnetic fields (MFs) $\\sim 10 \\mu$G over a comoving $\\sim 1$ pc region are predicted at redshift \\emph{z} $\\sim 10$. The amplification of these seed fields by the turbulent dynamo in a protogalaxy is here investigated. The e-fold amplification time by a turbulent eddy of radius $L$ with a circular velocity $V$ is on the order of $L/V$. Whereas the standard dynamo for a typical disk galaxy has an e-fold amplification time $\\sim 10^{9}$ years, the small scale turbulent dynamo has an e-fold time $\\sim 10^{7}$ years. We use the non-linear evolution equations for the magnetic correlations in order to analyze the amplifications of these fields in protogalaxies. Various authors have suggested a gravitational origin of the magnetic fields in rotating celestial bodies. It has been motivated, in part, by the Schuster-Blackett (S-B) conjecture, which suggests that the magnetic fields in planets and stars arise due to their rotation. In this scenario, neutral mass currents generate magnetic fields, implying the existence of a coupling between gravitational and electromagnetic fields. In this work, we investigate the possibility that the S-B conjecture is the origin of the intense magnetic fields near rotating compact objects, in particular connected with magnetars and gamma ray bursts. We also studied the influence of non-thermal pressure on the cluster mass determination using public XMM-Newton archival data for 5 Abell clusters. The non-thermal pressure considered here, is composed of the magnetic and the turbulent components. We also take into account these two non-thermal components in the hydrostatic equilibrium equation, and we compare the total mass estimated with the values obtained without assuming them. (AU)