Nov 19, 2012

Josh Wiener, University of California: Santa Barbara

"Cosmic Ray Streaming in Galaxy Clusters and in the Milky Way"

Cosmic rays play an important role in many different areas in astrophysics. Their synchrotron radiation is seen in the radio halos of distant galaxy clusters. A detailed knowledge of cosmic ray transport might then provide insight into the evolution of these halos and explain some of their properties. In the Milky Way, cosmic rays may serve as a supplemental heating source in the warm ionized medium (WIM). I will explain briefly the interplay between cosmic rays and the surrounding plasma and then talk about the effect of cosmic ray transport in these two environments.