Diffusive Transport of the Interstellar Magnetic Field

AST0098701Zweibel银河磁场是星际介质的主要组成部分。 虽然磁场的起源仍然是一个谜，但许多维持磁场现状的过程现在已经被确定。 其中最重要的过程之一是扩散传输，尽管星际气体的导电性很高，但它会改变磁通量到质量的分布。 科罗拉多大学的Ellen Zweibel博士将从事两个研究项目，旨在了解星际磁场的扩散传输。 第一个项目涉及分子云中的场强，它影响分子云动力学和星星的形成。 第二个项目涉及从银河系磁盘的磁通量逃逸，其对银河系磁场的垂直结构的影响，以及它对银河系发电机的影响。 这些项目通过它们对双极漂移和湍流的共同依赖而相互关联。 ***

AST 0098701ZweibelThe Galactic magnetic field is a major component of the interstellar medium. Although the origin of the field remains a mystery, many of the processes which maintain the field in its current state have now been identified. One of the most important of these processes is diffusive transport, which changes the distribution of magnetic flux to mass despite the high conductivity of interstellar gas. Dr. Ellen Zweibel, at the University of Colorado, will pursue two research projects directed at understanding diffusive transport of the interstellar magnetic field. The first project concerns the field strengths in molecular clouds, which impact molecular cloud dynamics and star formation. The second project concerns the escape of magnetic flux from the Galactic disk, its implications for the vertical structure of the Galactic magnetic field, and its impact on the Galactic dynamo. These projects are related through their joint dependence on ambipolar drift and turbulence. ***