Coulomb to Gravitational force ratio and galaxy formation
Event Timeslots (1)
Wednesday 10th
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Coulomb to Gravitational force ratio and galaxy formation
A small imbalance of electric charge of a few in ~1e36 particles is expected for a gas in hydrostatic equilibrium, as first noted by Rosseland (1924). This imbalance equals the ratio of gravitational to Coulomb forces between two protons, and it allows electrons which are significantly less massive, to remain bound to a galaxy. This charge excess is small enough that it can be safely ignored in most cases. On the other hand, the origin of cosmic magnetic fields is still unresolved, as it requires a seed field for which there are several contending proposals. Using current knowledge of galaxy formation we estimate the net charge for a rotating protogalaxy to produce the required seed. The resulting charge represents an imbalance that is consistent with Rosseland's. We will describe this and other possible consequences of a Rosseland charge imbalance for galaxy formation and evolution.