Our Milky Way galaxy's magnetic turbulence captured in unprecedented detail

Space turbulence may seem like something you’d never encounter, but it’s all around us. It shapes how stars form, how solar winds move, and even how charged particles affect satellites that are orbiting Earth.

Now, scientists have taken a massive leap in understanding these chaotic motions through the use of a powerful new computer simulation. The research was conducted by an international team of researchers led by the University of Toronto.

The scientists built the most detailed model yet of magnetized turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) – the vast cloud of gas and particles between stars in our galaxy.

To power this model, they relied on the SuperMUC-NG supercomputer in Germany.

Understanding space turbulence

“This is the first time we can study these phenomena at this level of precision and at these different scales,” said James Beattie, the study’s lead researcher.

The simulation is designed to explore how magnetic fields shape the behavior of turbulent gas in outer space.

These magnetic fields are incredibly weak – millions of times less powerful than a fridge magnet. Yet, they play a major role in shaping the galaxy and influencing star formation.

Understanding space turbulence could help answer long-standing questions about how stars and galaxies evolve.

“Turbulence remains one of the greatest unsolved problems in classical mechanics,” Beattie explained. “This despite the fact that turbulence is ubiquitous: from swirling milk in our coffee to chaotic flows in the oceans, solar wind, interstellar medium, even the plasma between galaxies.”

The key distinction in astrophysical environments is the presence of magnetic fields, which fundamentally alter the nature of turbulent flows.

Tracking turbulence at every scale

The new model covers space on an enormous scale. The largest version simulates a cube that stretches 30 light-years across. But the real strength lies in its flexibility.

Scientists can scale it down by a factor of 5,000 to study much smaller phenomena, like the solar wind that flows from the Sun and affects Earth.

Even though space is almost empty compared to Earth, the motion of particles in space still generates magnetic fields and space turbulence.

These fields are thought to be formed in much the same way as Earth’s own magnetic field, which comes from the movement of molten material in its core.

The model captures these effects in finer detail than ever before. It also simulates wide changes in density – from areas that are nearly empty to denser regions like star-forming nebulas.

“What our simulation captures really well, is the extreme changes in density of the ISM, something previous models hadn’t taken into account,” said Beattie.

Shedding light on star formation

One of the most exciting uses of this simulation is understanding how stars are born. Magnetic pressure, which pushes outward, fights against gravity as it tries to collapse gas clouds into stars.

“We know that magnetic pressure opposes star formation by pushing outward against gravity as it tries to collapse a star-forming nebula,” Beattie said. “Now we can quantify in detail what to expect from magnetic turbulence on those kinds of scales.”

This deeper level of detail gives scientists a clearer picture of when and how stars take shape in our galaxy.

Testing the space turbulence model

The researchers are not stopping at theory. They are already testing the model against real-world data.

“We’ve already begun testing whether the model matches existing data from the solar wind and the Earth – and it’s looking very good,” said Beattie.

“This is very exciting because it means we can learn about space weather with our simulation. Space weather is very important because we’re talking about the charged particles that bombard satellites and humans in space and have other terrestrial effects.”

Magnetic turbulence in space

This model comes at a crucial moment. Observations of magnetic turbulence in space are becoming more detailed, thanks to new tools like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

As these instruments gather data on magnetic fields and space turbulence throughout the galaxy, scientists need accurate simulations to make sense of it all.

Having a model that can scale across different sizes and account for complex changes in density gives researchers a much-needed tool. It helps them interpret what they see in the sky.

Beyond the science, there’s something almost poetic about turbulence. It’s a pattern that shows up everywhere – from cosmic plasma to your morning cup of coffee.

“I love doing turbulence research because of its universality,” noted Beattie. “It looks the same whether you’re looking at the plasma between galaxies, within galaxies, within the solar system, in a cup of coffee or in Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.

“There’s something very romantic about how it appears at all these different levels and I think that’s very exciting.”

The full study was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

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