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Astrophysical plasmas are plasmas that occur in space. This includes the plasma that makes up stars. The Sun is constantly emitting a plasma known as the solar wind, which can affect satellites in orbit around the Earth and create aurora. Plasma is also found in interstellar space.
Analysis of archival XMM-Newton data yields measurements of stellar wind emission from three star systems, illustrating a direct method to determine the mass-loss rates of late-type main-sequence stars.
Turbulence plays a key role in space and astrophysical plasmas. The study reports evidence of the weak-to-strong transition when Alfvénic turbulence cascades from large to small scales revealed from the Cluster observation of space plasma.
Radio pulses from a rare, radio-loud magnetar, XTE J1810−197, are seen to have undergone a conversion in their polarization state. This change can be linked to the magnetar’s magnetic field geometry, and has commonalities with an effect also seen in fast radio bursts.
A state-of-the-art simulation reveals that the long-lasting 10 MK plasma in solar active regions can be heated by magnetic reconnections driven by continuous flux emergence that repeatedly deposit impulsive heating into the coronal plasma.
Astrophysical jets are pivotal in the process of star formation, yet the mechanism responsible for their collimation remains a topic of intense debate, largely due to the constraints imposed by astronomical observational techniques and facilities. In this study, the authors demonstrate that a wide-angle plasma plume can undergo collimation and acceleration when subjected to toroidal magnetic fields, as evidenced by all-optical laboratory experiments.
Analysis of archival XMM-Newton data yields measurements of stellar wind emission from three star systems, illustrating a direct method to determine the mass-loss rates of late-type main-sequence stars.
The mechanisms that generate magnetic fields in stars are complex, but computational models of dynamo action show how magnetic fields can be generated by extremely turbulent flows.
A laboratory experiment has replicated the braided strands of solar coronal loops and shown that the bursting of individual strands produces X-rays. Measurements of these braided strands and the generated X-rays reveal a multi-scale process that could be responsible for the energetic particles and X-rays that accompany solar flares.
Particles in space can be accelerated to high energy, the distribution of which follows a power law. This has now been reproduced in laboratory experiments mimicking astrophysical scenarios, which helps to understand the underlying mechanisms.
