"Towards a Unified View of the Magnetized and Multi-Phase Interstellar Medium"

MPE HYBRID-CAS Seminar

  • Date: Mar 11, 2026
  • Time: 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Raphael Skalidis (Caltech, Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, USA)
  • Location: MPE
  • Room: New Seminar Room X5, 1.1.18 b
"Towards a Unified View of the Magnetized and Multi-Phase Interstellar Medium"
Abstract: The interstellar medium (ISM) is a dynamic environment consisting of gas at different phases — from hot ionized plasma to cold molecular clouds. Phase interactions are turbulent and influenced by the omnipresent ISM magnetic field, which regulates the flow of matter, cloud formation, and the initial conditions for star formation. Yet, a unified picture of how turbulence and magnetic fields operate across the different ISM phases remains elusive. In this talk, I will present our ongoing efforts, which combine analytical modeling, numerical simulations of magnetized turbulence, and polarization observations to interpret and map the ISM’s turbulent magnetic structures. Our work provides new tools to constrain the three-dimensional geometry of interstellar magnetic fields. With the advent of large-scale polarization surveys, we are entering an era where a truly 3D view of the multiphase, magnetized ISM is within reach.
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