Bridging large- and small-scale physics of galaxy clusters

Clusters of galaxies are the largest objects in the Universe with the most massive baryonic component in the form of hot, X-ray emitting gas. Their large sizes and relative simplicity make them ideal laboratories for probing microphysics of intergalactic plasmas. While often neglected, this microphysics affects large-scale processes, including AGN feedback, cooling and star formation, physics of mergers, and the evolution of large-scale structure. In this talk, I will discuss how high-resolution X-ray imaging data can be used to probe turbulence in the intracluster medium and the effects of magnetic fields on transport processes, in particular, gas viscosity. As an application to large-scale physics, I will focus on feedback from supermassive black holes. At the end of the talk, I will discuss the near-future XRISM observatory and how it will advance our understanding of cluster (micro)physics.

 

If you would like to attend this meeting, please contact Vivian U (vivianu@uci.edu) for the Zoom link.