Project description
Improved models advance understanding of how cosmic rays affect galaxy evolution
The impact of cosmic rays (CRs) on galaxy evolution has currently garnered significant interest. Their energy densities that are comparable to turbulence and magnetic fields suggest that cosmic rays may influence the interstellar medium (ISM), affecting star formation and driving large-scale outflows. Moreover, they are vital for heating and ionising dense ISM regions shielded from photoionising radiation. However, their impact on ISM structure is unclear owing to limitations in transport models. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ECOSYSTEM project will use state-of-the-art magnetohydrodynamics simulations to model CR transport and interactions with gas in unprecedented detail. By exploring various galactic environments, ECOSYSTEM will address key questions about CR effects on the ISM disc, their spatial and spectral distribution and their ionisation rates in dense ISM regions.
Objective
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the impact of cosmic rays (CRs) on the evolution of galaxies. The fact that the local CR energy density is comparable to the turbulent and magnetic energy densities implies that CRs can potentially influence the dynamics of the interstellar medium (ISM), regulating the level of star formation and driving large-scale outflows. Moreover, CRs have long been known to be a key source of heating and ionization in the dense ISM shielded from photoionizing radiation. Despite the considerable progress made in the field, there are still uncertainties in modeling the galactic-scale transport of CRs. As a result, the extent to which CRs impact ISM structure and evolution is yet unclear.
ECOSYSTEM will provide a significant step forward in the field, thanks to state-of-the-art MHD simulations modeling the transport of spectrally resolved CRs and their interplay with the ambient gas, with unprecedented physical detail. These simulations will employ a new algorithm in which the propagation of CRs depends on the properties of the multiphase ISM and CRs themselves. To cover multiple ISM scales and conditions, the project will combine simulations of kpc-sized portions of galactic disks representative of galactic environments typical of Milky Way-like galaxies with zoom-in simulations of individual molecular clouds, and will explore different galactic properties in terms of star formation rate, gas surface density, and gravitational potential.
This project will deliver a comprehensive theoretical investigation of how the distribution of CRs, in space and energy, vary with the dynamical, thermal, and magnetic properties of the gas. Three questions will be addressed thanks to ECOSYSTEM: 1) What is the impact of CRs within the ISM disk and for galactic wind driving? 2) How do the large-scale spatial and spectral distribution of CRs depend on galactic environment? 3) What sets the CR ionization rate in the dense ISM?
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
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Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
00136 Roma
Italy