arXiv subjects

Rajsekhar Mohapatra

Publications and source records attributed to Rajsekhar Mohapatra.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

How Magnetic Fields Regulate Cooling and Mixing in Turbulent Radiative Mixing Layers

Turbulent radiative mixing layers (TRMLs) are expected wherever hot and cold gas move past one another, including in the solar corona, galactic winds, and cold filaments in galaxy clusters. These environments are often magnetized, but magnetic effects on mixing and cooling remain less well understood than in the hydrodynamic (HD) case. We present magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of TRMLs at resolutions up to $1024 \times 2048^2$, spanning fields aligned with and transverse to the shear, and polarity-reversing configurations in which oppositely directed fields form current sheets at the interface. Even initially weak hot-phase fields, with $\mathcal{M}_{\rm A,shear}\equiv v_{\rm shear}/v_{\rm A}\sim14$, reduce the mass and enthalpy flux and radiative cooling rate by up to an order of magnitude relative to HD. Magnetic tension weakens turbulent motions, reducing both the diffusion of hot gas into the layer and the folding of the cooling surface. Transverse fields suppress cooling somewhat more strongly than shear-aligned ones, although a transverse field exerts no tension against the initial linear instability. Polarity reversal changes the morphology of the cooling gas without restoring HD-like mixing. The dependence on the Damköhler number is similar to the HD case, but the degree of suppression is dependent on the initial field orientation. The net cooling rate appears resolution-independent in HD but declines with resolution in MHD, and has not converged, so our suppression factors are lower limits. Magnetic fields therefore strongly regulate cooling and mixing in multiphase gas, and quantitative predictions require careful treatment of transport processes.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Multiphase gas in Circumgalactic cloud complexes: Insights from kiloparsec-scale Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence Simulations

The circumgalactic medium (CGM) is the diffuse gas surrounding a galaxy's halo, and it plays a vital role in the galactic baryon cycle. However, its mass distribution across the virial phase and the cooler, denser atomic phase, remains uncertain. To investigate this, we perform high-resolution magnetohydrodynamic simulations of 0.125--8 kpc-scale representative patches of the CGM, with parameters informed by quasar absorption line observations. Our simulations resolve the cooling length (the minimum across all temperatures of $c_s t_{\rm cool}$, where $c_s$ is the sound speed and $t_{\rm cool}$ is the cooling time in isobaric conditions), allowing us to track the evolution of cold gas more accurately. We find that low-density CGM gas ($3\times10^{-4}$ cm$^{-3}$) cannot sustain cold gas below $10^4$ K for long, due to a large value of the ratio between the cooling to mixing time ($t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm mix}$). In contrast, higher-density environments ($3\times10^{-3}~{\rm cm}^{-3}$) reach a turbulent multiphase steady state, with up to $50\%$ of the mass in the cold phase, occupying only about $1\%$ of the volume. To connect with large-volume cosmological simulations and small ${\rm pc}$-scale idealized simulations, we explore different box sizes (0.125--8 kpc) and identify a key scaling relation: simulations with similar $t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm mix}$ exhibit comparable cold gas mass fractions and lifetimes. Importantly, we find that simply sub-sampling (reducing box-size) a small region from a large-volume simulation while maintaining a constant turbulent energy density injection rate from larger to smaller scales artificially shortens $t_\mathrm{mix}$, leading to inaccurate predictions for cold gas survival. This means that cold gas at small $\lesssim 10$ kpc scales arises in relatively dense, quiescent regions of the CGM rather than the turbulent ones undergoing cascade from large scales.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

A Comparative Study of Isothermal Turbulence Statistics: Fourier Space Driving vs. Point Source Driving

The turbulence driving parameter ($b \equiv σ_{ρ/\langle ρ\rangle}/\mathcal{M}$; the ratio of the density to velocity fluctuations) is widely used to infer the dominant mode of energy injection in interstellar turbulence. Numerical simulations of turbulence using Fourier Space Driving (FSD) establish a mapping from $b\approx 1/3$ for purely solenoidal to $b\approx 1$ for purely compressive driving. We test the robustness of this calibration by comparing FSD against Point Source Driving (PSD), which stochastically injects radial momentum at random locations mimicking supernovae. Using isothermal hydrodynamic simulations in a periodic box with AthenaK, we run a suite of carefully curated simulations to match Mach numbers between the two driving methods and compare morphology, probability density functions, and power spectra of density and velocity. Despite injecting purely compressive motions, the PSD models yield $b=0.33$ to $0.49$, values that the FSD calibration would associate with more solenoidal driving. With mass-weighted mean Mach number, excluding high-velocity bubble interiors, $b_M=0.74$ to $0.79$ still does not recover the expected $b\approx 1$ for volume-filling, purely compressive driving. More broadly, the PSD models show density and velocity statistics closer to solenoidal and compressive FSD models, respectively, and exhibit unique features, including non-Gaussian velocity tails and a positive density-Mach number correlation at high densities. Within the FSD framework itself, varying the forcing correlation time changes $b$ by a factor of more than 3 for compressive driving. These results demonstrate that $b$ is degenerate with both the spatial locality and the temporal correlation of the driving, limiting its utility as a standalone diagnostic of the energy injection mode.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Ceci n'est pas une Couche de Mélange: The Meaning of Resolved Turbulent Radiative Mixing

Turbulent Radiative Mixing Layers (TRMLs) are of fundamental importance to the transport of energy and momentum in multi-phase, astrophysical fluids. We use measurements of the "micro" and "macro" properties of these layers in high-resolution \texttt{AthenaK} simulations to investigate when their properties can be considered \textit{well}-resolved. In particular, we demonstrate that the previously noticed resolution independence of total cooling, $\dot{E}_{\rm cool}$, in these simulations is due to a remarkable, and perhaps fortuitous, cancellation of the countervailing effects of numerical dissipation and numerical viscosity. This calls into question the degree to which we can trust the results of these experiments, as there is no physical picture that explains this cancellation. We also demonstrate that in order to correctly resolve the phase structure in these layers, important for accurate predictions of their observable properties, one must resolve the scale on which turbulent diffusion acts on time-scales comparable to the cooling time. This "turbulent Field length", $λ_{\rm F,turb}$, is where the eddy turnover time is equal to the cooling time ($t_{\rm eddy}(λ_{\rm F,turb}) = t_{\rm cool}$). We demonstrate that resolving this scale results in converged phase-structure and spatially resolved transitions in the gas phases.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

The Origin of Da Scaling: Suppressed Cooling in Fast-Cooling Mixing Layers

In numerical experiments simulating Turbulent Radiative Mixing Layers (TRMLs) it is observed that as the cooling time in the mixed gas, $t_{\rm cool}$, becomes very short compared to the dynamical time of the turbulence, $t_{\rm eddy}/t_{\rm cool} \gg 1$, there is a change in the scaling behavior of the total energy radiated in the TRML as a function of this ratio, also known as the Damköhler number, ${\rm Da} \equiv t_{\rm eddy}/t_{\rm cool}$, from $\dot{E}_{\rm cool} \propto {\rm Da}^{1/2}$ to $\dot{E}_{\rm cool} \propto {\rm Da}^{1/4}$. The latter, so-called "fast-cooling," regime is of particular interest as many astrophysical mixing layers lie in this regime. We demonstrate that the origin of this change is the suppression of turbulent folding of the surface by the ram-pressure of the inflowing gas, which becomes much greater than the turbulent pressure in this regime. We present an argument that reproduces the $\dot{E}_{\rm cool} \propto {\rm Da}^{1/4}$ behavior by appealing to the suppression of the fractal structure of the interface by the ram-pressure of the inflowing gas.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

The Type Ia Supernova and Asymptotic Giant Branch Stellar Ejecta-regulated Interstellar Medium of Massive Galaxies

Observations and theory suggest that Type Ia supernovae (SNIa) heating and mass loss from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars play a crucial role in the interstellar medium (ISM) of massive galaxies. We perform 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the central few kiloparsecs of massive galaxies, including radiative cooling and mass and energy injection from AGB winds and SNIa (resolving each SNIa remnant, a few $\times10~\mathrm{pc}$ in size), excluding black hole feedback. We study systems with different initial core thermodynamic profiles, focusing on NGC 1399. Our simulations reproduce its observed density and entropy profiles well. Over $100~\mathrm{Myr}$, two steady-state profiles emerge, depending on the inner circumgalactic medium (CGM) pressure and the ratio of Ia heating to cooling: (i) if SNIa heating is less than cooling, a cooling flow develops; (ii) if SNIa heating is comparable to or exceeds cooling, SNIa heating drives a slow subsonic outflow of AGB ejecta, with black hole accretion at small radii. This outflow, pressure-confined by the CGM, adapts the ISM to the CGM properties: a low entropy CGM results in a dense, low entropy ISM with higher black hole accretion, while a high entropy CGM leads to a less dense, high entropy ISM with lower accretion. This suggests that the AGB-SNIa regulated ISM connects CGM and galaxy scales, potentially influencing black hole feedback in massive halos. Approximate methods of modeling Ia heating, such as clustered SNIa and smoothly distributed heating, produce unrealistic ISM profiles over $100~\mathrm{Myr}$, highlighting the importance of resolving SNIa in simulations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Multiphase gas in elliptical galaxies: the role of Type Ia supernovae

Massive elliptical galaxies harbor large amounts of hot gas ($T\gtrsim10^6~\mathrm{K}$) in their interstellar medium (ISM) but are typically quiescent in star formation. Active-galactic nuclei (AGNs) jets and Type Ia supernovae (SNIa) inject energy into the ISM which offsets its radiative losses and keeps it hot. SNIa deposit their energy locally within the galaxy compared to the larger few$\times10~\mathrm{kpc}$-scale AGN jets. In this study, we perform high-resolution ($512^3$) hydrodynamic simulations of a local ($1~\mathrm{kpc}^3$) density-stratified patch of massive galaxies' ISM. We include radiative cooling and shell-averaged volume heating, as well as randomly exploding SNIa. We study the effect of different fractions of supernova heating (with respect to the net cooling rate), different initial ISM density/entropy (which controls the thermal-instability growth time $t_\mathrm{ti}$) and different degrees of stratification (which affects the free-fall time $t_\mathrm{ff}$). We find that the SNIa drive predominantly compressive turbulence in the ISM with a velocity dispersion $σ_v$ up to $40~\mathrm{km}s^{-1}$ and logarithmic density dispersion $σ_s\sim0.2$--$0.4$. These fluctuations trigger multiphase condensation in regions of the ISM where $\min(t_\mathrm{ti})/t_\mathrm{ff}\lesssim 0.6\exp(6 σ_s)$, in agreement with theoretical expectations that large density fluctuations efficiently trigger multiphase gas formation. Since the SNIa rate is not self-adjusting, when the net cooling drops below the net heating rate the SNIa drive a hot wind which sweeps out most of the mass in our local model. Global simulations are required to assess the ultimate fate of this gas.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Multiphase condensation in cluster halos: interplay of cooling, buoyancy and mixing

Gas in the central regions of cool-core clusters and other massive halos has a short cooling time ($\lesssim1~\mathrm{Gyr}$). Theoretical models predict that this gas is susceptible to multiphase condensation, in which cold gas is expected to condense out of the hot phase if the ratio of the thermal instability growth time scale ($t_{\mathrm{ti}}$) to the free-fall time ($t_{\mathrm{ff}}$) is $t_{\mathrm{ti}}/t_{\mathrm{ff}}\lesssim10$. The turbulent mixing time $t_{\mathrm{mix}}$ is another important time scale: if $t_{\mathrm{mix}}$ is short enough, the fluctuations are mixed before they can cool. In this study, we perform high-resolution ($512^2\times768$--$1024^2\times1536$ resolution elements) hydrodynamic simulations of turbulence in a stratified medium, including radiative cooling of the gas. We explore the parameter space of $t_{\mathrm{ti}}/t_{\mathrm{ff}}$ and $t_{\mathrm{ti}}/t_{\mathrm{mix}}$ relevant to galaxy and cluster halos. We also study the effect of the steepness of the entropy profile, the strength of turbulent forcing and the nature of turbulent forcing (natural mixture vs. compressive modes) on multiphase gas condensation. We find that larger values of $t_{\mathrm{ti}}/t_{\mathrm{ff}}$ or $t_{\mathrm{ti}}/t_{\mathrm{mix}}$ generally imply stability against multiphase gas condensation, whereas larger density fluctuations (e.g., due to compressible turbulence) promote multiphase gas condensation. We propose a new criterion $\min(t_{\mathrm{ti}}/\min(t_{\mathrm{mix}},t_\mathrm{ff}))\lesssim c_2\times\exp(c_1σ_s)$ for when the halo becomes multiphase, where $σ_s$ denotes the amplitude of logarithmic density fluctuations and $c_1\simeq6$, $c_2\simeq1.8$ from an empirical fit to our results.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Multiphase turbulence in galactic halos: effect of the driving

Supernova explosions, active galactic nuclei jets, galaxy--galaxy interactions and cluster mergers can drive turbulence in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and in the intracluster medium (ICM). However, the exact nature of turbulence forced by these sources and its impact on the different statistical properties of the CGM/ICM and their global thermodynamics is still unclear. To investigate the effects of different types of forcing, we conduct high resolution ($1008^3$ resolution elements) idealised hydrodynamic simulations with purely solenoidal (divergence-free) forcing, purely compressive (curl-free) forcing, and natural mixture forcing (equal fractions of the two components). The simulations also include radiative cooling. We study the impact of the three different forcing modes (sol, comp, mix) on the morphology of the gas, its temperature and density distributions, sources and sinks of enstrophy, i.e., solenoidal motions, as well as the kinematics of hot ($\sim10^7~\mathrm{K}$) X-ray emitting and cold ($\sim10^4~\mathrm{K}$) H$α$ emitting gas. We find that compressive forcing leads to stronger variations in density and temperature of the gas as compared to solenoidal forcing. The cold phase gas forms large-scale filamentary structures for compressive forcing and misty, small-scale clouds for solenoidal forcing. The cold phase gas has stronger large-scale velocities for compressive forcing. The natural mixture forcing shows kinematics and gas distributions intermediate between the two extremes, the cold-phase gas occurs as both large-scale filaments and small-scale misty clouds.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Characterising the turbulent multiphase halos with periodic box simulations

Turbulence in the intracluster medium (ICM) is driven by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) jets, by mergers, and in the wakes of infalling galaxies. It not only governs gas motion but also plays a key role in the ICM thermodynamics. Turbulence can help seed thermal instability by generating density fluctuations, and mix the hot and cold phases together to produce intermediate temperature gas ($10^4$--$10^7$ $\mathrm{K}$) with short cooling times. We conduct high resolution ($384^3$--$768^3$ resolution elements) idealised simulations of the multiphase ICM and study the effects of turbulence strength, characterised by $f_{\mathrm{turb}}$ ($0.001$--$1.0$), the ratio of turbulent forcing power to the net radiative cooling rate. We analyse density and temperature distribution, amplitude and nature of gas perturbations, and probability of transitions across the temperature phases. We also study the effects of mass and volume-weighted thermal heating and weak ICM magnetic fields. For low $f_{\mathrm{turb}}$, the gas is distribution is bimodal between the hot and cold phases. The mixing between different phases becomes more efficient with increasing $f_{\mathrm{turb}}$, producing larger amounts of the intermediate temperature gas. Strong turbulence ($f_{\mathrm{turb}}\geq0.5$) generates larger density fluctuations and faster cooling, The rms logarithmic pressure fluctuation scaling with Mach number $σ_{\ln{\bar{P}}}^2\approx\ln(1+b^2γ^2\mathcal{M}^4)$ is unaffected by thermal instability and is the same as in hydro turbulence. In contrast, the density fluctuations characterised by $σ_s^2$ are much larger, especially for $\mathcal{M}\lesssim0.5$. In magnetohydrodynamic runs, magnetic fields provide significant pressure support in the cold phase but do not have any strong effects on the diffuse gas distribution, and nature and amplitude of fluctuations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Velocity structure functions in multiphase turbulence: interpreting kinematics of H$α$ filaments in cool core clusters

The central regions of cool-core galaxy clusters harbour multiphase gas, with gas temperatures ranging from $10$ $\mathrm{K}$--$10^7$$\mathrm{K}$. Feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) jets prevents the gas from undergoing a catastrophic cooling flow. However, the exact mechanism of this feedback energy input is unknown, mainly due to the lack of velocity measurements of the hot phase gas. However, recent observations have measured the velocity structure functions ($\mathrm{VSF}$s) of the cooler molecular ($\sim10$$\mathrm{K}$) and H$α$ filaments ($\sim10^4$$\mathrm{K}$) and used them to indirectly estimate the motions of the hot phase. In the first part of this study, we conduct high-resolution ($384^3$--$1536^3$ resolution elements) simulations of homogeneous isotropic subsonic turbulence, without radiative cooling. We analyse the second-order velocity structure functions ($\mathrm{VSF}_2$) in these simulations and study the effects of varying spatial resolution, the introduction of magnetic fields, and the effect of projection along the line of sight (LOS) on it. In the second part of the study, we analyse high-resolution ($768^3$ resolution elements) idealised simulations of multiphase turbulence in the intracluster medium (ICM) from Mohapatra et al 2021. We compare the $\mathrm{VSF}_2$ for both the hot ($T\sim10^7$$\mathrm{K}$) and cold ($T\sim10^4$$\mathrm{K}$) phases and find that their amplitude depends on the density contrast between the phases. They have similar scaling with separation, but introducing magnetic fields steepens the $\mathrm{VSF}_2$ of only the cold phase. We also find that projection along the LOS steepens the $\mathrm{VSF}_2$ for the hot phase and mostly flattens it for the cold phase.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Turbulent density and pressure fluctuations in the stratified intracluster medium

Turbulent gas motions are observed in the intracluster medium (ICM). The ICM is density-stratified, with the gas density being highest at the centre of the cluster and decreasing radially outwards. As a result of this, Kolmogorov (homogeneous, isotropic) turbulence theory does not apply to the ICM. The gas motions are instead explained by anisotropic stratified turbulence, with the stratification quantified by the perpendicular Froude number ($\mathrm{Fr}_\perp$). These turbulent motions are associated with density and pressure fluctuations, which manifest as perturbations in X-ray surface brightness maps of the ICM and as thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZ) fluctuations, respectively. In order to advance our understanding of the relations between these fluctuations and the turbulent gas velocities, we have conducted 100 high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of stratified turbulence ($256^2\times 384$ -- $1024^2\times1536$ resolution elements), in which we scan the parameter space of subsonic rms Mach number ($\mathcal{M}$), $\mathrm{Fr}_\perp$, and the ratio of entropy and pressure scale heights ($R_{PS}=H_P/H_S$), relevant to the ICM. We develop a new scaling relation between the standard deviation of logarithmic density fluctuations ($σ_s$, where $s=\ln(ρ/\left<ρ\right>)$), $\mathcal{M}$, and $\mathrm{Fr}_{\perp}$, valid till $\mathrm{Fr}_\perp\ll1$:~$σ_s^2=\ln\left(1+b^2\mathcal{M}^4+0.10/(\mathrm{Fr}_\perp+0.25/\sqrt{\mathrm{Fr}_\perp})^2\mathcal{M}^2R_{PS}\right)$, where $b\sim1/3$ for solenoidal turbulence driving studied here. We further find that logarithmic pressure fluctuations $σ_{(\ln{P}/\left )}$ are independent of stratification and scale according to the relation $σ_{(\ln{\bar{P}})}^2=\ln\left(1+b^2γ^2\mathcal{M}^4\right)$, where $\bar{P}=P/\left $ and $γ$ is the adiabatic index of the gas.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Turbulence in stratified atmospheres: implications for the intracluster medium

The gas motions in the intracluster medium (ICM) are governed by stratified turbulence. Stratified turbulence is fundamentally different from Kolmogorov (isotropic, homogeneous) turbulence; kinetic energy not only cascades from large to small scales, but it is also converted into buoyancy potential energy. To understand the density and velocity fluctuations in the ICM, we conduct high-resolution ($1024^2\times 1536$ grid points) hydrodynamical simulations of subsonic turbulence (with rms Mach number $\mathcal{M}\approx 0.25$) and different levels of stratification, quantified by the Richardson number $\mathrm{Ri}$, from $\mathrm{Ri}=0$ (no stratification) to $\mathrm{Ri}=13$ (strong stratification). We quantify the density, pressure and velocity fields for varying stratification because observational studies often use surface brightness fluctuations to infer the turbulent gas velocities of the ICM. We find that the standard deviation of the logarithmic density fluctuations ($σ_s$), where $s=\ln(ρ/\left<ρ(z)\right>)$, increases with $\mathrm{Ri}$. For weakly stratified subsonic turbulence ($\mathrm{Ri}\lesssim10$, $\mathcal{M}<1$), we derive a new $σ_s$--$\mathcal{M}$--$\mathrm{Ri}$ relation, $σ_s^2=\ln(1+b^2\mathcal{M}^4+0.09\mathcal{M}^2\mathrm{Ri}H_P/H_S)$, where $b=1/3$--$1$ is the turbulence driving parameter, and $H_P$ and $H_S$ are the pressure and entropy scale heights respectively. We further find that the power spectrum of density fluctuations, $P(ρ_k/\left<ρ\right>)$, increases in magnitude with increasing $\mathrm{Ri}$, whereas the velocity power spectrum is invariant. Thus, the ratio between density and velocity power spectra strongly depends on $\mathrm{Ri}$. Pressure fluctuations, on the other hand, are independent of stratification and only depend on $\mathcal{M}$.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Turbulence in the intracluster medium: simulations, observables & thermodynamics

We conduct two kinds of homogeneous isotropic turbulence simulations relevant for the intracluster medium (ICM): (i) pure turbulence runs without radiative cooling; (ii) turbulent heating$+$radiative cooling runs with global thermal balance. For pure turbulence runs in the subsonic regime, the rms density and surface brightness (SB) fluctuations vary as the square of the rms Mach number ($\mathcal{M}_{\text{rms}}$). However, with thermal balance, the density and SB fluctuations $(δSB/SB)$ are much larger. These scalings have implications for translating SB fluctuations into a turbulent velocity, particularly for cool cores. For thermal balance runs with large (cluster core) scale driving, both the hot and cold phases of the gas are supersonic. For small scale (one order of magnitude smaller than the cluster core) driving, multiphase gas forms on a much longer timescale but $\mathcal{M}_{\text{rms}}$ is smaller. Both small and large scale driving runs have velocities larger than the Hitomi results from the Perseus cluster. Thus turbulent heating as the dominant heating source in cool cluster cores is ruled out if multiphase gas is assumed to condense out from the ICM. Next we perform thermal balance runs in which we partition the input energy into thermal and turbulent parts and tune their relative magnitudes. The contribution of turbulent heating has to be $\lesssim 10\%$ in order for turbulence velocities to match Hitomi observations. If the dominant source of multiphase gas is not cooling from the ICM (but say uplift from the central galaxy), the importance of turbulent heating cannot be excluded.

astro-ph.GA↗