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Astro Seminar: Furea Kiuchi

Date:
-
Location:
179 Chem-Phys Bldg

Magnetic fields in the High Velocity Clouds

Abstract:
The high velocity clouds (HVCs) that cover the sky around the Milky Way are now
widely believed to be low-metallicity gas that is being accreted by the Galaxy,
fueling star formation and stabilizing the Galactic disk. There is a fundamental
question about what holds the clouds together as coherent entities. One possible
mechanism for stabilizing a cloud is its magnetic field.  Indeed, the interaction of a falling
cloud with the galactic halo depends keenly on the strength and orientation of the
magnetic field. Smith's Cloud is one of those falling clouds that is on its way to
interact with the galactic plane. I'll talk about its current observational result while
trying to remove the possible instrumental effects.