Abstract
Both multiphase gas and magnetic fields are ubiquitous in astrophysics.
However, the influence of magnetic fields on mixing of the different phases is
still largely unexplored. In this study, we use both turbulent radiative mixing
layer (TRML) and turbulent box simulations to examine the effects of magnetic
fields on cold gas growth rates, survival, and the morphology of the multiphase
gas. Our findings indicate that, in general, magnetic fields suppress mixing in
TRMLs while turbulent box simulations show comparatively marginal differences
in growth rates and survival of the cold gas. We reconcile these two seemingly
contrasting results by demonstrating that similar turbulent properties result
in comparable mixing -- regardless of the presence or absence of magnetic
fields. We, furthermore, find the cold gas clump size distribution to be
independent of the magnetic fields but the clumps are more filamentary in the
MHD case. Synthetic MgII absorption lines support this picture being marginally
different with and without magnetic fields; both cases aligning well with
observations. We also examine the magnetic field strength and structure in
turbulent boxes. We generally observe a higher mean magnetic field in the cold
gas phase due to flux freezing and reveal fractal-like magnetic field lines in
a turbulent environment.
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