Colloquium on May. 13, 2026

Secrets of the Intracluster Medium

Speaker: Larry Rudnick (University of Minnesota)

Venue: SWIFAR Building 2111

Time: 16:00 PM, Wednesday, May. 13, 2026

Abstract:

We’ve known about this dominant baryon component in clusters of galaxies for fifty years, and learned a lot during that time.  The intracluster medium, (ICM) shining in X-rays,  records the history of how clusters have assembled over cosmic time.   However, there are key features of ICM dynamics that are currently invisible to the X-ray probes, but can make themselves known through the interactions between the ICM and cluster radio galaxies and other structures.  I will briefly review some of what we’ve learned, then focus on some very puzzling structures that are emerging in the latest radio surveys. These new features suggest quite complicated dynamics in the hot plasma, with magnetic fields perhaps playing a key role.  Fair warning —  interesting questions will be asked, but not really answered.