Cosmic-ray hydrodynamics: Alfv\'en-wave regulated transport of cosmic rays

TL;DR

This paper develops a new, stable macroscopic theory for cosmic-ray transport mediated by Alfvén waves, improving the modeling of cosmic-ray feedback in galaxy formation without relying on tunable parameters.

Contribution

The authors introduce a comprehensive, parameter-free hydrodynamic model for cosmic-ray transport that includes interactions with Alfvén waves and energy exchange mechanisms, enhancing simulation stability and accuracy.

Findings

The new theory enables stable, self-regulated cosmic-ray transport in simulations.

It conserves total energy and momentum, aligning with previous models in steady state.

The model is coupled with magneto-hydrodynamics for realistic galaxy formation simulations.

Abstract

Star formation in galaxies appears to be self-regulated by energetic feedback processes. Among the most promising agents of feedback are cosmic rays (CRs), the relativistic ion population of interstellar and intergalactic plasmas. In these environments, energetic CRs are virtually collisionless and interact via collective phenomena mediated by kinetic-scale plasma waves and large-scale magnetic fields. The enormous separation of kinetic and global astrophysical scales requires a hydrodynamic description. Here, we develop a new macroscopic theory for CR transport in the self-confinement picture, which includes CR diffusion and streaming. The interaction between CRs and electromagnetic fields of Alfv\'enic turbulence provides the main source of CR scattering, and causes CRs to stream along the magnetic field with the Alfv\'en velocity if resonant waves are sufficiently energetic. However, numerical simulations struggle to capture this effect with current transport formalisms and adopt regularization schemes to ensure numerical stability. We extent the theory by deriving an equation for the CR momentum density along the mean magnetic field and include a transport equation for the Alfv\'en-wave energy. We account for energy exchange of CRs and Alfv\'en waves via the gyroresonant instability and include other wave damping mechanisms. Using numerical simulations we demonstrate that our new theory enables stable, self-regulated CR transport. The theory is coupled to magneto-hydrodynamics, conserves the total energy and momentum, and correctly recovers previous macroscopic CR transport formalisms in the steady-state flux limit. Because it is free of tunable parameters, it holds the promise to provide predictable simulations of CR feedback in galaxy formation.