Radio filaments as Z-pinched Galactic center wind

TL;DR

This paper explores a hypothesis that radio filaments in the Galactic center are formed by the wind interacting with magnetic structures, leading to Z-pinching and filament stabilization.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model where magnetic field interactions and Z-pinching explain the formation and stabilization of radio filaments in the Galactic center.

Findings

Z-pinched filaments produce electron-accelerating electric fields

Magnetic field rearrangement occurs during filament constriction

Axial magnetic fields may stabilize filaments against instabilities

Abstract

In this brief note, we tentatively investigate the possibility that the radio filaments are produced when the Galactic center wind washes over magnetic field structures. The electrons and ions, with their disparate charge-to-mass ratios, are deflected differently by the magnetic field, and a current results. The current is subsequently Z-pinched into filaments, creating an electron-accelerating electric field along the way, because the magnetic field necessarily rearranges during the dynamic constriction process. An axial magnetic field also arises, possibly via the diocotron channel, to eventually quench the pinching and stabilize the filaments against a variety of instabilities.