Galactic magnetic fields and hierarchical galaxy formation

Rodrigues, L.F.S.; Shukurov, A.; Fletcher, A.; Baugh, C.M.

doi:10.1093/mnras/stv816

Galactic magnetic fields and hierarchical galaxy formation

Rodrigues, L.F.S.; Shukurov, A.; Fletcher, A.; Baugh, C.M.

Authors

L.F.S. Rodrigues

A. Shukurov

A. Fletcher

Professor Carlton Baugh c.m.baugh@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

A framework is introduced for coupling the evolution of galactic magnetic fields sustained by the mean-field dynamo with the formation and evolution of galaxies in cold dark matter cosmology. Estimates of the steady-state strength of the large-scale and turbulent magnetic fields from mean-field and fluctuation dynamo models are used together with galaxy properties predicted by semi-analytic models of galaxy formation for a population of spiral galaxies. We find that the field strength is mostly controlled by the evolving gas content of the galaxies. Thus, because of the differences in the implementation of the star formation law, feedback from supernovae and ram-pressure stripping, each of the galaxy formation models considered predicts a distribution of field strengths with unique features. The most prominent of them is the difference in typical magnetic field strengths obtained for the satellite and central galaxy populations as well as the typical strength of the large-scale magnetic field in galaxies of different mass.

Citation

Rodrigues, L., Shukurov, A., Fletcher, A., & Baugh, C. (2015). Galactic magnetic fields and hierarchical galaxy formation. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 450(4), 3472-3489. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv816

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	May 27, 2015
Publication Date	Jul 11, 2015
Deposit Date	May 27, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Jul 23, 2015
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Print ISSN	0035-8711
Electronic ISSN	1365-2966
Publisher	Royal Astronomical Society
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	450
Issue	4
Pages	3472-3489
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv816
Keywords	Galaxies: evolution, Galaxies: magnetic fields.

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Copyright Statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. ©: 2015 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.