Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T02:22:15.768Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Magnetic self-compression in laboratory plasmas, quasars and radio galaxies. Part I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2009

Eric J. Lerner
Affiliation:
20 Pine Knoll Drive, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

Abstract

A model of quasars and their associated jets as phenomena of magnetic selfcompression is presented. Magnetic field self-compression, as observed in laboratory plasma focus devices, results in increases in energy density of more than 108 and in even larger increases in transferred power density. Our model, based on the scaling of these phenomena to astrophysical dimensions, avoids the problems of gravitationallyconfined approaches. It presents a mechanism by which the energy of a quasar is immediately derived from a volume nearly 106 times larger than the observed quasar radiating volume and is ultimately derived from the volume of an entire protogalactic plasma cloud. The model's predictions of quasar energy, radiated power, lifetime, dimensions, density and rotational velocity are in good agreement with observations. Part II of this paper extends the model to radio galaxies and briefly discusses the role of similar self-compression processes in the origin of filamentary super-clusters of galaxies.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramowicz, M. A. & Piran, T. 1980 Ap. J. 141, L7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alfven, H. 1978 Astrophysics and Space Science, 54, 179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alfven, H. 1981 Cosmic Plasma, D. Reidel.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldwin, J. A. & Netzer, H. 1978 Ap. J., 226, 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belvedere, G. & Molteni, D. 1982 Ap. J. 263, 611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benford, G. 1978 MNRAS, 183, 29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernard, A. 1978 Atomkernergie, 32, 73.Google Scholar
Bertalot, L. et al. 1981 Proc. 8th IAEA Conf. on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion,177.Google Scholar
Bostick, W. et al. 1966 Phys. Fluids, 9, 2078.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bostick, W. et al. 1974, Proc. Int. Conf. on Energy, Storage, Compression and Switching,261.Google Scholar
Bostick, W. et al. 1975 Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 251, 2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browne, P. F. 1985 Ast. and Astrophys. 144, 298.Google Scholar
Buneman, O. et al. 1966 J. Ap. Physics, 37, 3203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bykovskii, Y. A. & Lugoda, V. B. 1982 JETP, 56, 61.Google Scholar
Cebanu, A. et al. 1981, Proc. 8th IAEA Conf. on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion,197.Google Scholar
Chan, K. L. & Henriksen, R. W. 1980 Ap. J. 241, 534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferraro, V. and Plumpton, C. 1961 An Introduction to Magneto-Fluid Mechanics, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Filippov, N. V. et al. 1961 Proc. 1st IAEA Conf. on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion,577.Google Scholar
Greenstein, T. L., & Schmidt, M. 1964 Ap. J. 140, 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haas, C. R. et al. 1983 Proc. 3rd International Workshop on Plasma Focus Research,87.Google Scholar
Hayd, A., Kaeppeler, H. J., Maurer, M. & Meinke, P., 1984 Proceed. Int. Conf. Plasma Physics, Lausanne, June, Vol. 1, p. 166.Google Scholar
Herziger, G. et al. 1983 Proceed. Int. Conf. Plasma Physics, Lausanne, June,31.Google Scholar
Hirano, K. et al. , 1983 Proceed. Int. Conf. Plasma Physics, Lausanne, June,35.Google Scholar
Imshennik, V. S. et al. 1984 Proc. 10th IAEA Conf. on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion,561.Google Scholar
Ivanov, V. D. et al. 1981 Proc. 8th IAEA Conf. on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion,161.Google Scholar
Jerzykiewicz, A. et al. 1983 Proc. 3rd International Workshop on Plasma Focus Research,17.Google Scholar
Jerzkiewicz, A. et al. 1984 Proc. 10th IAEA Conf. on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion,591.Google Scholar
Kitagawa, Y. et al. 1980 Proc. Int. Conf. Plasma Theory and 4th Int. Congress on Waves and Instabilities in Plasmas, 1, 164.Google Scholar
Leorat, J. et al. 1981 J. Fluid Mech. 104, 419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynden-Bell, D. 1978 Phys. Scripta, 17, 185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marscher, A. P. & Broderick, J. J. 1981 Ap. J. 249, 406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mather, J. W. 1965 (A), Proc. 2nd IAEA Conf. on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion, 2, 389.Google Scholar
Mather, J. W. 1965 (B) Phys. Fluid. 8, 366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mikhailovskii, A. B. 1974 Theory of Plasma Instabilities, vol. 1, Consetants Bureau.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molvig, K. 1975 Phys. Rev. Let. 35, 1504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nardi, V. 1970 Phys. Rev. Lett. 25, 778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nardi, V. 1974 Proc. of Int. Conf. on Energy Storage, Compression and Switching,173.Google Scholar
Nardi, V., 1983 Energy Storage, Compression and Switching II, Plenum Press p. 449.Google Scholar
Nardi, V. et al. 1978 Proc. IAEA Conf. Plasma Phys. and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research, 2, 143.Google Scholar
Nardi, V. et al. 1980 Phys. Rev. 224, 2211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, E. W. 1981 Cosmical Magnetic Fields, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Peratt, A. L. & Green, J. C. 1983 Astrophysics and Space Science, 91, 19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potash, R. J. & Wardel, J. F. C. 1980 Ap. J. 239, 42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, H. et al. 1983 Proc. 3rd International Workshop on Plasma Focus Research, 63.Google Scholar
Sturrock, P. A. 1969 in Quasars and High-Energy Astronomy, Gordon and Breach, New York p. 167.Google Scholar
Vrotonyi, K. 1980 Ast. and Astrophys. 83, 245.Google Scholar
Yokoyama, M. et al. 1981 Proc. 8th IAEA Conf. on Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion, 187.Google Scholar
Yoshikawa, S. 1971 Phys. Rev. Let. 26, 295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar