Lagoon Nebula
is a large, low-density cloud of partially ionized gas.
[1]
Astrophysical plasma
is
plasma
outside of the
Solar System
. It is studied as part of
astrophysics
and is commonly observed in space.
[2]
The accepted view of scientists is that much of the
baryonic
matter in the
universe
exists in this state.
[3]
When matter becomes sufficiently hot and energetic, it becomes
ionized
and forms a plasma. This process breaks matter into its constituent particles which includes negatively charged
electrons
and positively charged
ions
.
[4]
These electrically charged particles are susceptible to influences by local
electromagnetic fields
. This includes
strong fields generated
by
stars
, and weak fields which exist in
star forming regions
, in
interstellar
space, and in
intergalactic
space.
[5]
Similarly,
electric fields
are observed in some stellar astrophysical phenomena, but they are inconsequential in very low-density gaseous media.
Astrophysical plasma is often differentiated from
space plasma
, which typically refers to the plasma of the
Sun
, the
solar wind
, and the
ionospheres
and
magnetospheres
of the Earth and other planets.
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
Observing and studying astrophysical plasma
[
edit
]
Plasmas in stars can both generate and interact with
magnetic fields
, resulting in a variety of dynamic astrophysical phenomena. These phenomena are sometimes observed in spectra due to the
Zeeman effect
. Other forms of astrophysical plasmas can be influenced by preexisting weak magnetic fields, whose interactions may only be determined directly by
polarimetry
or other indirect methods.
[5]
In particular, the
intergalactic medium
, the
interstellar medium
, the
interplanetary medium
and
solar winds
consist of diffuse plasmas.
Possible related phenomena
[
edit
]
Scientists are interested in
active galactic nuclei
because such astrophysical plasmas could be directly related to the plasmas studied in laboratories.
[13]
Many of these phenomena seemingly exhibit an array of complex
magnetohydrodynamic
behaviors, such as
turbulence
and
instabilities
.
[2]
In
Big Bang
cosmology
, the entire universe was in a plasma state prior to
recombination
.
[14]
Early history
[
edit
]
Norwegian explorer and physicist
Kristian Birkeland
predicted that space is filled with
plasma
. He wrote in 1913:
It seems to be a natural consequence of our points of view to assume that the whole of space is filled with electrons and flying electric
ions
of all kinds. We have assumed that each
stellar system
through its evolution throws off electric corpuscles into space.
Birkeland assumed that most of the mass in the universe should be found in "empty" space.
[15]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Sneak Preview of Survey Telescope Treasure Trove"
.
ESO Press Release
. Retrieved
23 January
2014
.
- ^
a
b
"Study sheds light on turbulence in astrophysical plasmas: Theoretical analysis uncovers new mechanisms in plasma turbulence"
. MIT News. December 2017
. Retrieved
2018-02-20
.
- ^
Chiuderi, C.; Velli, M. (2015). "Particle Orbit Theory".
Basics of Plasma Astrophysics
. UNITEXT for Physics. p. 17.
Bibcode
:
2015bps..book.....C
.
doi
:
10.1007/978-88-470-5280-2_2
.
ISBN
978-88-470-5280-2
.
- ^
IUPAC
,
Compendium of Chemical Terminology
, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "
Ionization
".
doi
:
10.1351/goldbook.I03183
- ^
a
b
Lazarian, A.
; Boldyrev, S.; Forest, C.; Sarff, P. (2009). "Understanding of the role of magnetic fields: Galactic perspective".
Astro2010: The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey
.
2010
: 175.
arXiv
:
0902.3618
.
Bibcode
:
2009astro2010S.175L
.
- ^
"Space Physics Textbook"
. 2006-11-26. Archived from
the original
on December 18, 2008
. Retrieved
2018-02-23
.
- ^
"The Solar Physics and Space Plasma Research Centre (SP
2
RC)"
. MIT News
. Retrieved
2018-02-23
.
- ^
Owens, Mathew J.; Forsyth, Robert J. (2003). "The Heliospheric Magnetic Field".
Living Reviews in Solar Physics
.
10
(1): 5.
arXiv
:
1002.2934
.
Bibcode
:
2013LRSP...10....5O
.
doi
:
10.12942/lrsp-2013-5
.
ISSN
2367-3648
.
S2CID
122870891
.
- ^
Nagy, Andrew F.; Balogh, Andre; Thomas E. Cravens; Mendillo, Michael; Mueller-Woodarg, Ingo (2008).
Comparative Aeronomy
. Springer. pp. 1?2.
ISBN
978-0-387-87824-9
.
- ^
Ratcliffe, John Ashworth (1972).
An Introduction to the Ionosphere and Magnetosphere
.
CUP Archive
.
ISBN
978-0-521-08341-6
.
- ^
NASA Study Using Cluster Reveals New Insights Into Solar Wind, NASA, Greenbelt, 2012, p.1
- ^
Cade III, William B.; Christina Chan-Park (2015).
"The Origin of "Space Weather"
"
.
Space Weather
.
13
(2): 99.
Bibcode
:
2015SpWea..13...99C
.
doi
:
10.1002/2014SW001141
.
- ^
Berkowitz, Rachel (April 2018). "Lab experiments mimic the origin and growth of astrophysical magnetic fields".
Physics Today
.
71
(4): 20?22.
Bibcode
:
2018PhT....71d..20B
.
doi
:
10.1063/PT.3.3891
.
- ^
Peebles, P. J. E. (1968). "Recombination of the Primeval Plasma".
Astrophysical Journal
.
153
: 1.
Bibcode
:
1968ApJ...153....1P
.
doi
:
10.1086/149628
.
- ^
Birkeland, Kristian (1908).
The Norwegian Aurora Polaris Expedition 1902?1903
. New York and Christiania (now Oslo): H. Aschehoug & Co. p.
720
.
out-of-print, full text online.
External links
[
edit
]