arXiv subjects

Sharanya Sur

Publications and source records attributed to Sharanya Sur.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Unraveling the Imprints of Fluctuation-dynamo on the Intracluster Medium with the SKA

Studying the morphology and coherence scale of the magnetic fields in synchrotron emitting halos of galaxy clusters through detection of polarized synchrotron emission is important in order to understand how they distribute relativistic plasma, their contribution to pressure balance, and how they may affect gas content in galaxies and set up initial conditions during non-linear collapse to eventually form galaxies in the intracluster medium (ICM). Using synthetic maps over broad-bandwidths, generated from high resolution magnetohydrodynamic simulations of fluctuation dynamo, we study the efficacy of SKA-Low and Mid in Array Assembly AA4 in our quest for detecting polarized synchrotron emission from the intracluster medium (ICM). Fluctuation dynamo action in the ICM are expected to generate ubiquitous filamentary and sheet-like magnetic field structures. The associated synchrotron emission projected in the plane of the sky appear highly filamentary that can span hundreds of kiloparsecs. Such filaments can be robustly identified and quantified through high angular resolution ($\lesssim 1^{\prime\prime}$), sensitive observations (about $\rm 0.25\textrm{--}1\,\mu Jy\,beam^{-1}$) above about 3\,GHz, a niche for the SKA-Mid in Band\,5a. Statistical properties of polarized emission and morphological measures, such as, Minkowski functionals, can then be used to infer the turbulence driving scales in the ICM with deep observations of galaxy clusters using SKA-Mid. Availability of a Band\,4 receiver covering 2--4\,GHz would be a major boost in studying the polarization properties of the ICM.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Fluctuation dynamos in supersonic turbulence at ${\rm Pm} \gtrsim 1$

Fluctuation dynamos provide a robust mechanism for amplifying weak seed magnetic fields in turbulent astrophysical plasmas. However, their behaviour in the highly compressible regimes characteristic of the interstellar medium remains incompletely understood. Using high-resolution 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations of supersonic turbulence with rms Mach number $\mathcal{M}_{\rm rms} \approx 11$, we explore fluctuation dynamos across magnetic Prandtl numbers ${\rm Pm} = 1-10$. At ${\rm Pm}=1$, dynamo growth is slower and saturates at lower magnetic-to-kinetic energy ratios, with amplification in the kinematic phase dominated by compression rather than line stretching. In contrast, at ${\rm Pm}=10$, vortical stretching emerges as the dominant mechanism, yielding faster growth, higher saturation levels, and stronger suppression of density--magnetic field correlations by magnetic pressure. This transition is reflected in the correlation coefficient between density and magnetic field strength, which is strongly positive at ${\rm Pm}=1$ but decreases significantly at higher ${\rm Pm}$. Across all runs, the ratio of velocity-to-magnetic integral scales is $\sim 3.4$, in the saturated phase, independent of ${\rm Pm}$, while the ratio of viscous to resistive dissipation scales increases with the increase in ${\rm Pm}$. Synthetic Faraday rotation measures reveal coherence lengths of $\sim$one-fourth to one-third of the forcing scale across the range of ${\rm Pm}$ explored. Using these coherence scales, we discuss the potential contribution of fluctuation dynamos to Faraday rotation expected from turbulent, gas-rich young disk galaxies.

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arXiv2024

Probing the Morphology of Polarized Emission Induced by Fluctuation Dynamo using Minkowski Functionals

The morphology and the characteristic scale of polarized structures provide crucial insights into the mechanisms that drive turbulence and maintain magnetic fields in magneto-ionic plasma. We aim to establish the efficacy of Minkowski functionals as quantitative statistical probes of filamentary morphology of polarized synchrotron emission resulting from fluctuation dynamo action. Using synthetic observations generated from magnetohydrodynamic simulations of fluctuation dynamos with varying driving scales ($\ell_{\rm f}$) of turbulence in isothermal, incompressible, and subsonic media, we study the relation between different morphological measures and their connection to fractional polarization ($p_{\rm f}$). We find that Faraday depolarization at low frequencies gives rise to small-scale polarized structures that have higher filamentarity as compared to the intrinsic structures that are comparable to $\ell_{\rm f}$. Above $\sim3\,{\rm GHz}$, the number of connected polarized structures per unit area ($N_{\rm CC, peak}$) is related to the mean $p_{\rm f}$ ($\langle p_{\rm f} \rangle$) of the emitting region as $\langle p_{\rm f}\rangle \propto N_{\rm CC, peak}^{-1/4}$, provided the scale of the detectable emitting region is larger than $\ell_{\rm f}$. This implies that $N_{\rm CC,peak}$ represents the number of turbulent cells projected on the plane of the sky and can be directly used to infer $\ell_{\rm f}$ via the relation $\ell_{\rm f} \propto N_{\rm CC,peak}^{-1/2}$. An estimate of $\ell_{\rm f}$ thus directly allows for pinning down the turbulence-driving mechanism in astrophysical systems. While the simulated conditions are mostly prevalent in the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters, the qualitative morphological features are also applicable in the context of interstellar medium in galaxies.

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arXiv2023

Role of magnetic pressure forces in fluctuation dynamo saturation

Using magnetohydrodynamic simulations of fluctuation dynamos in turbulent flows with rms Mach numbers $\mathcal{M}_{\rm rms} = 0.2, 1.1$ and $3$, we show that magnetic pressure forces play a crucial role in dynamo saturation in supersonic flows. First, as expected when pressure forces oppose compression, an increase in anticorrelation between density and magnetic field strengths obtains even in subsonic flows with the anti-correlation arising from the intense but rarer magnetic structures. In supersonic flows, due to stronger compressive motions density and magnetic field strength continue to maintain a positive correlation. However, the degree of positive correlation decreases as the dynamo saturates. Secondly, we find that the unit vectors of $\nablaρ$ and $\nabla B^{2}$ are preferentially antiparallel to each other in subsonic flows. This is indicative of magnetic pressure opposing compression. This antiparallel alignment persists in transonic and supersonic flows at dynamo saturation. However, compressive motions also lead to the emergence of a parallel alignment in these flows. Finally, we consider the work done against the components of the Lorentz force and the different sources of magnetic energy growth and dissipation. We show that while in subsonic flows, suppression of field line stretching is dominant in saturating the dynamo, the picture is different in supersonic flows. Both field line stretching and compression initially amplifies the field. However, growing magnetic pressure opposes further compression of magnetic flux which tends to reduce the compressive motions. Simultaneously, field line stretching also reduces. But, suppression of compressive amplification dominates the saturation of the dynamo.

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arXiv2022

Exploring diffuse radio emission in galaxy clusters and groups with the uGMRT and the SKA

Diffuse radio emission has been detected in a considerable number of galaxy clusters and groups, revealing the presence of pervasive cosmic magnetic fields, and of relativistic particles in the large-scale structure (LSS) of the Universe. Since cluster radio emission is faint and steep spectrum, its observations are largely limited by the instrument sensitivity and frequency of observation, leading to a dearth of information, more so for lower-mass systems. The unprecedented sensitivity of recently commissioned low-frequency radio telescope arrays, aided by the development of advanced calibration and imaging techniques, have helped in achieving unparalleled image quality. At the same time, the development of sophisticated numerical simulations and the availability of supercomputing facilities have paved the way for high-resolution numerical modeling of radio emission, and the structure of the cosmic magnetic fields in LSS, leading to predictions matching the capabilities of observational facilities. In view of these rapidly-evolving scenerio in modeling and observations, in this review, we summarise the role of the new telescope arrays and the development of advanced imaging techniques and discuss the detections of various kinds of cluster radio sources. In particular, we discuss observations of the cosmic web in the form of supercluster filaments, studies of emission in poor clusters and groups of galaxies, and of ultra-steep spectrum sources. We also review the current theoretical understanding of various diffuse cluster radio sources and the associated magnetic field and polarization. As the statistics of detections improve along with our theoretical understanding, we update the source classification schemes based on their intrinsic properties. We conclude by summarising the role of the upgraded GMRT and our expectations from the upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA) observatories.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Properties of Polarized Synchrotron Emission from Fluctuation Dynamo Action -- II. Effects of Turbulence Driving in the ICM and Beam Smoothing

Polarized synchrotron emission from the radio halos of diffuse intracluster medium (ICM) in galaxy clusters are yet to be observed. To investigate the expected polarization in the ICM, we use high resolution ($1$\,kpc) magnetohydrodynamic simulations of fluctuation dynamos, which produces intermittent magnetic field structures, for varying scales of turbulent driving ($l_{\rm f}$) to generate synthetic observations of the polarized emission. We focus on how the inferred diffuse polarized emission for different $l_{\rm f}$ is affected due to smoothing by a finite telescope resolution. The mean fractional polarization $\langle p\rangle$ vary as $\langle p \rangle \propto l_{\rm f}^{1/2}$ with $\langle p \rangle > 20\%$ for $l_{\rm f} \gtrsim 60$\,kpc, at frequencies $ν> 4\,{\rm GHz}$. Faraday depolarization at $ν< 3$\,GHz leads to deviation from this relation, and in combination with beam depolarization, filamentary polarized structures are completely erased, reducing $\langle p \rangle$ to below 5\% level at $ν\lesssim1$\,GHz. Smoothing on scales up to $30$\,kpc reduces $\langle p \rangle$ above $4$\,GHz by at most a factor of 2 compared to that expected at $1$\,kpc resolution of the simulations, especially for $l_{\rm f} \gtrsim 100$\,kpc, while at $ν< 3$\,GHz, $\langle p \rangle$ is reduced by a factor of more than 5 for $l_{\rm f} \gtrsim 100$\,kpc, and by more than 10 for $l_{\rm f} \lesssim 100$\,kpc. Our results suggest that observational estimates of, or constrain on, $\langle p \rangle$ at $ν\gtrsim 4$\,GHz could be used as an indicator of the turbulent driving scale in the ICM.

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arXiv2021

Properties of polarized synchrotron emission from fluctuation-dynamo action -- I. Application to galaxy clusters

Using magnetohydrodynamic simulations of fluctuation dynamos, we perform broad-bandwidth synthetic observations to investigate the properties of polarized synchrotron emission and the role that Faraday rotation plays in inferring the polarized structures in the intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters. In the saturated state of the dynamo, we find a Faraday depth (FD) dispersion $σ_{\rm FD} \approx 100$ rad m$^{-2}$, in agreement with observed values in the ICM. Remarkably, the FD power spectrum is qualitatively similar to $M(k)/k$, where $M(k)$ is the magnetic spectrum and $k$ the wavenumber. However, this similarity is broken at high $k$ when FD is obtained by applying RM synthesis to polarized emission from the ICM due to poor resolution and complexities of spectrum in FD space. Unlike the Gaussian probability distribution function (PDF) obtained for FD, the PDF of the synchrotron intensity is lognormal. A relatively large $σ_{\rm FD}$ in the ICM gives rise to strong frequency-dependent variations of the pixel-wise mean and peak polarized intensities at low frequencies ($\lesssim 1.5\,{\rm GHz}$). The mean fractional polarization $\langle p \rangle$ obtained at the resolution of the simulations increases from $<0.1$ at 0.5 GHz to its intrinsic value of $\sim0.3$ at 6 GHz. Beam smoothing significantly affects the polarization properties below $\lesssim 1.5\,{\rm GHz}$, reducing $\langle p \rangle$ to $\lesssim 0.01$ at 0.5 GHz. At frequencies $\gtrsim 5\,{\rm GHz}$, polarization remains largely unaffected, even when recovered using RM synthesis. Thus, our results underline the need for high-frequency ($\gtrsim 5\,{\rm GHz}$) observations with future radio telescopes to effectively probe the properties of polarized emission in the ICM.

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arXiv2020

Modeling the survival of Population III stars till present day

Recent numerical simulations have suggested the probability of a fraction of the primordial stars being ejected from the cluster of their origin. We explore the possibility that some of these can remain on the main sequence until the present epoch. We develop a semianalytical model guided by results of cosmological simulations to study the mass accretion by these protostars as a function of the original stellar mass and other parameters such as angular momentum and gravitational drag due to ambient gas. We also explore whether some of the protostars remain sufficiently low mass and long-lived to survive to the present day. This requires that the protostars are ejected from the star forming region while their mass is less than $0.8 M_{\odot}$. Assuming that the protostars gain mass via the spherical Bondi--Hoyle accretion from the ambient medium, we show that Population III protostars that initially form within a certain range of mass and are ejected with velocity larger than the escape velocity may survive to the present day on the main sequence. Thus, they may even be found in our Milky Way or its satellites. Our calculations also reveal that protostars that do not get ejected from the parent gas clump accrete a large amount of gas. We predict that these can become massive enough to be progenitors of black holes.

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arXiv2020

Magnetism Science with the Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will answer fundamental questions about the origin, evolution, properties, and influence of magnetic fields throughout the Universe. Magnetic fields can illuminate and influence phenomena as diverse as star formation, galactic dynamics, fast radio bursts, active galactic nuclei, large-scale structure, and Dark Matter annihilation. Preparations for the SKA are swiftly continuing worldwide, and the community is making tremendous observational progress in the field of cosmic magnetism using data from a powerful international suite of SKA pathfinder and precursor telescopes. In this contribution, we revisit community plans for magnetism research using the SKA, in the light of these recent rapid developments. We focus in particular on the impact that new radio telescope instrumentation is generating, thus advancing our understanding of key SKA magnetism science areas, as well as the new techniques that are required for processing and interpreting the data. We discuss these recent developments in the context of the ultimate scientific goals for the SKA era.

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arXiv2019

Modeling the survival of Population III stars till present day

Recent numerical simulations have suggested the probability of a fraction of the primordial stars to be ejected from the cluster of their origin. We explore the possibility that some of these can remain on the main sequence till the present epoch. We develop a semi-analytical model guided by results of cosmological simulations to study the mass accretion by these protostars as a function of the original stellar mass, and other parameters such as angular momentum and gravitational drag due to ambient gas. We also explore whether some of the protostars remain sufficiently low-mass and long-lived to survive to the present day. This requires that the protostars are ejected from the star forming region while their mass is less than $0.8\,M_{\odot}$. Assuming the protostars gain mass via the spherical Bondi-Hoyle accretion from the ambient medium, we show that Pop III protostars that initially form within a certain range of mass and are ejected with velocity larger than the escape velocity may survive to the present day on the main sequence. Thus, they may even be found in our Milky Way or its satellites. Our calculations also reveal that protostars that do not get ejected from the parent gas cloud accrete large amount of gas. We predict that these can become massive enough to be progenitors of black holes.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Decaying turbulence and magnetic fields in galaxy clusters

We explore the decay of turbulence and magnetic fields generated by fluctuation dynamo action in the context of galaxy clusters where such a decaying phase can occur in the aftermath of a major merger event. Using idealized numerical simulations that start from a kinetically dominated regime we focus on the decay of the steady state rms velocity and the magnetic field for a wide range of conditions that include varying the compressibility of the flow, the forcing wave number, and the magnetic Prandtl number. Irrespective of the compressibility of the flow, both the rms velocity and the rms magnetic field decay as a power-law in time. In the subsonic case we find that the exponent of the power-law is consistent with the $-3/5$ scaling reported in previous studies. However, in the transonic regime both the rms velocity and the magnetic field initially undergo rapid decay with an $\approx t^{-1.1}$ scaling with time. This is followed by a phase of slow decay where the decay of the rms velocity exhibits an $\approx -3/5$ scaling in time, while the rms magnetic field scales as $\approx -5/7$. Furthermore, analysis of the Faraday rotation measure reveals that the Faraday RM decays also decays as a power law in time $\approx t^{-5/7}$; steeper than the $\sim t^{-2/5}$ scaling obtained in previous simulations of magnetic field decay in subsonic turbulence. Apart from galaxy clusters, our work can have potential implications in the study of magnetic fields in elliptical galaxies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Faraday rotation signatures of fluctuation dynamos in young galaxies

Observations of Faraday rotation through high-redshift galaxies have revealed that they host coherent magnetic fields that are of comparable strengths to those observed in nearby galaxies. These fields could be generated by fluctuation dynamos. We use idealized numerical simulations of such dynamos in forced compressible turbulence up to rms Mach number of 2.4 to probe the resulting rotation measure (RM) and the degree of coherence of the magnetic field. We obtain rms values of RM at dynamo saturation of the order of 45 - 55 per cent of the value expected in a model where fields are assumed to be coherent on the forcing scale of turbulence. We show that the dominant contribution to the RM in subsonic and transonic cases comes from the general sea of volume filling fields, rather than from the rarer structures. However, in the supersonic case, strong field regions as well as moderately overdense regions contribute significantly. Our results can account for the observed RMs in young galaxies.

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arXiv2016

Probing magnetic fields with Square Kilometre array and its precursors

Origin of magnetic fields, its structure and effects on dynamical processes in stars to galaxies are not well understood. Lack of a direct probe has hampered its study. The first phase of Square Kilometre Array (SKA-I), will have more than an order of magnitude higher sensitivity than existing radio telescopes. In this contribution, we discuss specific science cases that are of interest to the Indian community concerned with astrophysical turbulence and magnetic fields. The SKA-I will allow observations of a large number of background sources with detectable polarisation and measure their Faraday depths (FDs) through the Milky Way, other galaxies and their circum-galactic medium. This will probe line-of-sight magnetic fields in these objects well and provide field configurations. Detailed comparison of observational data with models which consider various processes giving rise to field amplification and maintenance will then be possible. Such observations will also provide the coherence scale of the fields and measure its random component. Measuring the random component is important to characterise turbulence in the medium. Observations of FDs with redshift will provide important information on magnetic field evolution as a function of redshift. The background sources could also be used to probe magnetic fields and its coherent scale in galaxy clusters and in bridges formed between interacting galaxies. Other than FDs, sensitive observations of synchrotron emission from galaxies will provide complimentary information on their magnetic field strengths in the sky plane. The core shift measurements of AGNs can provide more precise measurements of magnetic field very close (<pc) to the black hole and its evolution. The low band of SKA-I will also be useful to study circularly polarized emission from Sun and comparing various models of field configurations with observations.

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arXiv2016

Galaxy Outflows Without Supernovae

High surface density, rapidly star-forming galaxies are observed to have $\approx 50-100\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}}$ line-of-sight velocity dispersions, which are much higher than expected from supernova driving alone, but may arise from large-scale gravitational instabilities. Using three-dimensional simulations of local regions of the interstellar medium, we explore the impact of high velocity dispersions that arise from these disk instabilities. Parametrizing disks by their surface densities and epicyclic frequencies, we conduct a series of simulations that probe a broad range of conditions. Turbulence is driven purely horizontally and on large scales, neglecting any energy input from supernovae. We find that such motions lead to strong global outflows in the highly-compact disks that were common at high redshifts, but weak or negligible mass loss in the more diffuse disks that are prevalent today. Substantial outflows are generated if the one-dimensional horizontal velocity dispersion exceeds $\approx 35\,{\rm km\,s^{-1}},$ as occurs in the dense disks that have star formation rate densities above $\approx 0.1\,{\rm M}_\odot\,{\rm yr}^{-1}\,{\rm kpc}^{-2}.$ These outflows are triggered by a thermal runaway, arising from the inefficient cooling of hot material coupled with successive heating from turbulent driving. Thus, even in the absence of stellar feedback, a critical value of the star-formation rate density for outflow generation can arise due to a turbulent heating instability. This suggests that in strongly self-gravitating disks, outflows may be enhanced by, but need not caused by, energy input from supernovae.

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arXiv2014

Alignment of the scalar gradient in evolving magnetic fields

We conduct simulations of turbulent mixing in the presence of a magnetic field, grown by the small-scale dynamo. We show that the scalar gradient field, $\nabla C$, which must be large for diffusion to operate, is strongly biased perpendicular to the magnetic field, ${\mathbf B}$. This is true both early-on, when the magnetic field is negligible, and at late times, when the field is strong enough to back react on the flow. This occurs because $\nabla C$ increases within the plane of a compressive motion, but ${\mathbf B}$ increases perpendicular to it. At late times the magnetic field resists compression, making it harder for scalar gradients to grow and likely slowing mixing.

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arXiv2014

Mixing in Magnetized Turbulent Media

Turbulent motions are essential to the mixing of entrained fluids and are also capable of amplifying weak initial magnetic fields by small-scale dynamo action. Here we perform a systematic study of turbulent mixing in magnetized media, using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations that include a scalar concentration field. We focus on how mixing depends on the magnetic Prandtl number, Pm, from 1 to 4 and the Mach number, M}, from 0.3 to 2.4. For all subsonic flows, we find that the velocity power spectrum has a k^-5/3 slope in the early, kinematic phase, but steepens due to magnetic back reactions as the field saturates. The scalar power spectrum, on the other hand, flattens compared to k^-5/3 at late times, consistent with the Obukohov-Corrsin picture of mixing as a cascade process. At higher Mach numbers, the velocity power spectrum also steepens due to the presence of shocks, and the scalar power spectrum again flattens accordingly. Scalar structures are more intermittent than velocity structures in subsonic turbulence while for supersonic turbulence, velocity structures appear more intermittent than the scalars only in the kinematic phase. Independent of the Mach number of the flow, scalar structures are arranged in sheets in both the kinematic and saturated phases of the magnetic field evolution. For subsonic turbulence, scalar dissipation is hindered in the strong magnetic field regions, probably due to Lorentz forces suppressing the buildup of scalar gradients, while for supersonic turbulence, scalar dissipation increases monotonically with increasing magnetic field strength. At all Mach numbers, mixing is significantly slowed by the presence of dynamically-important small-scale magnetic fields, implying that mixing in the interstellar medium and in galaxy clusters is less efficient than modeled in hydrodynamic simulations.

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arXiv2012

The impact of thermodynamics on gravitational collapse: filament formation and magnetic field amplification

Stars form by the gravitational collapse of interstellar gas. The thermodynamic response of the gas can be characterized by an effective equation of state. It determines how gas heats up or cools as it gets compressed, and hence plays a key role in regulating the process of stellar birth on virtually all scales, ranging from individual star clusters up to the galaxy as a whole. We present a systematic study of the impact of thermodynamics on gravitational collapse in the context of high-redshift star formation, but argue that our findings are also relevant for present-day star formation in molecular clouds. We consider a polytropic equation of state, P = k rho^Gamma, with both sub-isothermal exponents Gamma < 1 and super-isothermal exponents Gamma > 1. We find significant differences between these two cases. For Gamma > 1, pressure gradients slow down the contraction and lead to the formation of a virialized, turbulent core. Weak magnetic fields are strongly tangled and efficiently amplified via the small-scale turbulent dynamo on timescales corresponding to the eddy-turnover time at the viscous scale. For Gamma < 1, on the other hand, pressure support is not sufficient for the formation of such a core. Gravitational contraction proceeds much more rapidly and the flow develops very strong shocks, creating a network of intersecting sheets and extended filaments. The resulting magnetic field lines are very coherent and exhibit a considerable degree of order. Nevertheless, even under these conditions we still find exponential growth of the magnetic energy density in the kinematic regime.

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arXiv2012

Generation of strong magnetic fields via the small-scale dynamo during the formation of the first stars

Here we summarize our recent results of high-resolution computer simulations on the turbulent amplification of weak magnetic seed fields showing that such fields will be exponentially amplified also during the gravitational collapse reminiscent to the situation during primordial star formation. The exponential magnetic field amplification is driven by the turbulent small-scale dynamo that can be only observed in computer simulations if the turbulent motions in the central core are sufficiently resolved. We find that the Jeans length, which determines the central core region, has to be resolved by at least 30 grid cells to capture the dynamo activity. We conclude from our studies that strong magnetic fields will be unavoidably created already during the formation of the first stars in the Universe, potentially influencing their evolution and mass distribution.

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