The researchers found "filaments" of electrons orbiting magnetic field lines around
Astrophysicist at Northwestern University FarhadZadeh first discovered the unusual highly organized magnetic filaments "hanging" at the center of the Milky Way in the early 1980s. In the years that have passed since then, scientists have not understood the nature of this phenomenon. In the new work, Zadeh showed that similar structures exist in other galaxies.
Large-scale magnetic filaments radiate downward from a black hole jet in a distant cluster of galaxies. Images: Northwestern
The newly discovered threads are insidegalaxy cluster, a concentrated tangle of thousands of galaxies located at a distance of one billion light years from Earth. Some of the galaxies in the cluster are active radio galaxies, which appear to be breeding grounds for the formation of large-scale magnetic filaments.
Although the new population is similar to those inour Milky Way, there are some key differences. The filaments of our Galaxy reach a length of 150 light years, located beyond its limit - from 100 to 10,000 times longer. They are also much older and their magnetic fields are weaker. Curiously, most of them dangle — at 90-degree angles — from the jets of the black hole into the space sandwiched between the galaxies within the cluster.
Close-up radio images of magnetic filaments.Leftmost filament from the outer galaxy. Its length reaches 100 kiloparsecs. Three other filaments are filmed in the Milky Way. They are much shorter: they are 28 parsecs, 12 parsecs, and 6 parsecs long. Images: Northwestern
Researchers believe that the origin of the threadsmay be the result of an interaction between the galactic wind and an obstacle such as a cloud. When the wind wraps around an obstacle, it creates a comet tail behind it.
Wind is generated by the motion of the galaxy itself.as it rotates. It's like sticking your hand out the window of a moving car. There is no wind outside, but you can feel the movement of the air. As a galaxy moves, it creates wind that can push through places where cosmic ray particles are quite loose. It sweeps the material and creates a filamentous structure.
Farhad Zadeh, astrophysicist and author of the study
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