3:30–4:30 pm Zoom - Please contact Laticia at lrebeles@oddjob.uchicago.edu for info
The Non-thermal Universe
Non-thermal particles are ubiquitous in the Universe: we can detect them at Earth as cosmic rays, probe them in-situ with spacecraft in the heliosphere, and observe their emission from galactic and extra-galactic objects over a vast range of frequencies spanning from radio to gamma-rays. I present some paradigmatic examples of how ab-initio plasma simulations can be used to further our understanding of particle acceleration and transport, and eventually the non-thermal phenomenology of several astrophysical objects. Moreover, I illustrate how cosmic rays and magnetic fields can play a crucial role in the interstellar medium and hence in galactic dynamics and evolution.