TA-Lab Colloquium

(Last update on 2 July 2026)

Next Talk

Date/Room 1 October at 14:00 in ES606 & zoom
Speaker Izumi Seno (TA-Lab., Nagoya Univ.)
Title Phase Transition Dynamics in the Gaseous Halo
Abstract The formation of a multi-phase structure in the Galactic halo is essential for regulating mass accretion onto the disk and fueling star formation. Thermal instability drives this accretion by cooling virialized gas below the virial temperature. While phase transition dynamics are well-understood in the interstellar medium (ISM), their application to the vastly different environment of the Galactic halo remains unclear. In this study, using two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations, we investigate the non-linear evolution of thermal instability to determine the conditions for realizing a multi-phase halo. We identify a novel survival criterion: the multi-phase structure is governed by whether the quasi-static gas temperature exceeds a critical threshold, contrasting with previous pressure-dominated models. This fundamental distinction stems from the temperature dependency of halo heating processes, which dictates the thermal stability of the hot phase and consequently governs the mass flux across phase interfaces. In this presentation, we will also discuss the physical mechanisms required to sustain a multi-phase medium, focusing especially on the importance of magnetic fields in the thermally unstable hot phase. Our findings may provide new insights into hot gas dynamics, indicating that warm clouds immediately evaporate and revert to a single-phase hot medium even after being formed by thermal instability.