Joint Astrophysical Colloquium
Cosmic-ray transport and feedback in star-forming environments
Lucia Armillotta (Princeton University)
Thursday 01/02/2024 @ 11:30, Sala Antonio Sollima (IV piano Battiferro)
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in understanding the role of cosmic rays (CRs) in shaping galaxy evolution. MHD galaxy simulations including CRs have demonstrated that CRs can significantly contribute to the dynamics of the interstellar medium (ISM), aiding in the internal support against gravity and helping to launch galactic outflows. However, the degree to which CRs influence these phenomena is highly contingent upon the chosen CR transport prescription within the model. To address this issue, we have recently developed a transport prescription that is grounded in physical principles rather than empirical considerations, aiming for a more realistic representation of CR transport in ISM simulations. In my talk, I will outline the novelty of our model and discuss the implications of adopting this more realistic formulation for CR transport. Furthermore, I will present the application of our novel scheme in MHD simulations of galactic outflows. These simulations reveal that CRs efficiently accelerate extra-planar material if the latter is mostly warm gas, while they have very little effect on fast, hot outflows.