When:
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM CT
Where: Technological Institute, F160, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 map it
Audience: Faculty/Staff - Student - Public
Contact:
Liz Lwanga
(847) 491-3645
Group: Physics and Astronomy Astrophysics Seminars
Category: Academic
Title: Do Galaxy Clusters Boil?
Speaker: Mike McCourt, UC Berkeley
Host: Claude-André Faucher-Giguère
Abstract: The hot plasma filling galaxy clusters is susceptible to a convective MHD instability known as the MTI. Understanding the implications of this convection has been surprisingly difficult, however; it depends on both the large-scale evolution of the cluster and on the plasma physics of the gas. I will describe a new set of "semi-cosmological" simulations which capture enough of the cosmic evolution of galaxy clusters to reproduce their large-scale properties but still provide an idealized environment in which to study cluster convection and its implications. I will also describe some future applications of these simulations to other problems in galaxy formation.
Keywords: Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics