Ion acoustic solitary waves in magnetized anisotropic nonextensive plasmas

The nonlinear propagation of ion-acoustic (IA) electrostatic solitary waves (SWs) is studied in a magnetized electron–ion (e–i) plasma in the presence of pressure anisotropy with electrons following Tsallis distribution. The Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) type equation is derived by employing the reductive perturbation method (RPM) and its solitary wave (SW) solution is determined and analyzed. The effect of nonextensive parameter q, parallel component of anisotropic ion pressure p 1, perpendicular component of anisotropic ion pressure p 2, obliqueness angle θ, and magnetic field strength Ω on the characteristics of SW structures is investigated. The present investigation could be useful in space and astrophysical plasma systems.

Reconciling hints on axion-like-particles from high-energy gamma rays with stellar bounds

It has been recently claimed by two different groups that the spectral modulation observed in gamma rays from Galactic pulsars and supernova remnants can be due to conversion of photons into ultra-light axion-like-particles (ALPs) in large-scale Galactic magnetic fields. While we show the required best-fit photon-ALP coupling, gaγ ∼ 2 × 10-10 GeV-1, to be consistent with constraints from observations of photon-ALPs mixing in vacuum, this is in conflict with other bounds, specifically from the CAST solar axion limit, from the helium-burning lifetime in globular clusters, and from the non-observations of gamma rays in coincidence with SN 1987A. In order to reconcile these different results, we propose that environmental effects in matter would suppress the ALP production in dense astrophysical plasma, allowing to relax previous bounds and make them compatible with photon-ALP conversions in the low-density Galactic medium. If this explanation is correct, the claimed ALP signal would be on the reach of next-generations laboratory experiments such as ALPS II.

Asymptotic Shallow Models Arising in Magnetohydrodynamics

In this paper, we derive new shallow asymptotic models for the free boundary plasma-vacuum problem governed by the magnetohydrodynamic equations which are vital when describing large-scale processes in flows of astrophysical plasma. More precisely, we present the magnetic analogue of the 2D Green–Naghdi equations for water waves under a weak magnetic pressure assumption in the presence of weakly sheared vorticity and magnetic currents. Our method is inspired by ideas for hydrodynamic flows developed in Castro and Lannes (2014) to reduce the three-dimensional dynamics of the vorticity and current to a finite cascade of two dimensional equations which can be closed at the precision of the model.

Variable Density Flows in Rotating Astrophysical Plasma. Linear Waves and Resonant Phenomena

New observational data and modeling of physical processes constantly appear in the young and rapidly developing branch of science of plasma astrophysics. However, there is a lack of theoretical studies in the field of plasma astrophysics, that could unite the physics of various objects in the Universe, explain the observed phenomena and contribute to the improvement of numerical modeling schemes efficiency. This article makes up for this shortcoming by introducing different models, taking into account the various properties of plasma objects. We present a review of the latest magnetohydrodynamic theories of wave processes in rotating astrophysical plasma, taking into account important and common properties of astrophysical objects as compressibility and stratification.

R-matrix electron-impact excitation data for the N-like iso-electronic sequence

Context. Spectral lines from N-like ions can be used to measure the temperature and density of various types of astrophysical plasmas. The atomic databases of astrophysical plasma modelling codes still have room for improvement in their electron-impact excitation data sets for N-like ions, especially for R-matrix data. This is particularly relevant for future observatories (e.g. Arcus), which will host high-resolution spectrometers. Aims. We aim to obtain level-resolved effective collision strengths for all transitions up to nl = 5d over a wide range of temperatures for N-like ions from O II to Zn XXIV (i.e. O+ to Zn23+) and to assess the accuracy of the present work. We also examine the impact of our new data on plasma diagnostics by modelling solar observations with CHIANTI. Methods. We carried out systematic R-matrix calculations for N-like ions, which included 725 fine-structure target levels in both the configuration interaction target and close-coupling collision expansions. The R-matrix intermediate coupling frame transformation method was used to calculate the collision strengths, while the AUTOSTRUCTURE code was used for the atomic structures. Results. We compare the present results for selected ions with those in archival databases and the literature. The comparison covers energy levels, oscillator strengths, and effective collision strengths. We show examples of improved plasma diagnostics when compared to CHIANTI models, which use only distorted wave data as well as some using previous R-matrix data. The electron-impact excitation data are archived according to the Atomic Data and Analysis Structure (ADAS) data class adf04 and will be available in OPEN-ADAS. The data can be used to improve the atomic databases for astrophysical plasma diagnostics.

First detection of stacked X-ray emission from cosmic web filaments

We report the first statistical detection of X-ray emission from cosmic web filaments in ROSAT data. We selected 15 165 filaments at 0.2 < z < 0.6 ranging from 30 Mpc to 100 Mpc in length, identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey survey. We stacked the X-ray count-rate maps from ROSAT around the filaments, excluding resolved galaxy groups and clusters above the mass of ∼3 × 1013 M⊙ as well as the detected X-ray point sources from the ROSAT, Chandra, and XMM-Newton observations. The stacked signal results in the detection of the X-ray emission from the cosmic filaments at a significance of 4.2σ in the energy band of 0.56−1.21 keV. The signal is interpreted, assuming the Astrophysical Plasma Emission Code model, as an emission from the hot gas in the filament-core regions with an average gas temperature of 0.9−0.6+1.0 keV and a gas overdensity of δ ∼ 30 at the center of the filaments. Furthermore, we show that stacking the SRG/eROSITA data for ∼2000 filaments only would lead to a ≳5σ detection of their X-ray signal, even with an average gas temperature as low as ∼0.3 keV.

Theory of ion holes in space and astrophysical plasmas

ABSTRACT Coherent bipolar electric field structures, ubiquitously found in various space and astrophysical plasma environments, play an important role in plasma transport and particle acceleration. Most of the studies found in the literature about them pertain to bipolar structures with positive potentials interpreted in terms of electron holes. Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft have recently observed a series of coherent electric field structures with negative potential in the Earth’s bow shock region, which are interpreted as ion holes. The existing theoretical models of ion holes are inadequate because they entail stringent conditions on the ratio of ion to electron temperature. This letter presents a new theory that provides a satisfactory explanation to these observations. A salient point is that this letter incorporates the electron dynamics in the theoretical formalism, which removes ambiguities associated with existing theories, thus showing that the new theory for ion holes may be widely applicable for space and astrophysical plasmas.