Bridging the Kinetic-Fluid Gap: Ion-Driven Magnetogenesis to Prime Cosmic Dynamos

TL;DR

This paper uncovers how ion kinetic processes significantly amplify magnetic fields in cosmic environments, bridging the gap between microscopic seed generation and large-scale dynamo action.

Contribution

It introduces high-resolution kinetic simulations revealing ion-driven instabilities that enhance magnetic field amplification beyond electron-scale limits.

Findings

Ion-driven filamentation amplifies magnetic energy by orders of magnitude.

Magnetic fields expand to ion scales, enabling effective cosmic dynamo initiation.

Ion kinetics serve as the crucial link between micro and macro magnetic field evolution.

Abstract

The origin of cosmic magnetic fields is widely attributed to the amplification of weak seed fields by turbulent dynamos. However, a critical understanding gap remains between the microscopic generation of these seeds and the macroscopic onset of the dynamo. Current kinetic models, often constrained to electron scales, predict premature saturation via magnetic trapping, leaving the generated fields potentially too weak and small-scale to effectively prime magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) processes. Here, using high-resolution kinetic simulations with a realistic mass ratio, we reveal the physics of this unexplored ion-kinetic regime. Under generalized continuous shear driving, used to simulate ubiquitous macroscopic flows, we demonstrate that the saturation of electron instabilities is not the endpoint but a precursor to a distinct, ion-dominated evolution. Massive ions, sustaining the velocity shear, trigger a subsequent filamentation instability that accesses the vast ion kinetic energy reservoir. This mechanism amplifies the magnetic energy by orders of magnitude beyond the electron-saturation limit, expanding the field coherence to ion scales. Our results establish ion kinetics as the essential ''missing link'' that bridges the divide between microscopic plasma instabilities and macroscopic cosmic dynamos.