SEMINAR: Towards a unified view of the magnetized and multi-phase interstellar medium.

Guest: Raphael Skalidis

Title:  Towards a unified view of the magnetized and multi-phase interstellar medium.

Date / Time: April 6, 2026, 14:40, 

Location: FENS G025

Abstract: The interstellar medium (ISM) is a dynamic environment consisting of gas at different phases — from hot ionized plasma to cold molecular clouds. Phase interactions are turbulent and influenced by the omnipresent ISM magnetic field, which regulates the flow of matter, cloud formation, and the initial conditions for star formation. Yet, a unified picture of how turbulence and magnetic fields operate across the different ISM phases remains elusive. In this talk, I will present our ongoing efforts, which combine analytical modeling, numerical simulations of magnetized turbulence, and polarization observations to interpret and map the ISM’s turbulent magnetic structures. Our work provides new tools to constrain the three-dimensional geometry of interstellar magnetic fields. With the advent of large-scale polarization surveys, we are entering an era where a truly 3D view of the multiphase, magnetized ISM is within reach.

Bio: Raphael Skalidis is a Hubble Fellow at Caltech. He completed his undergraduate and doctoral studies in Physics at the University of Crete. His research focuses on magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and the physics of the interstellar medium. He combines numerical simulations and theoretical modeling to study the interplay between magnetic fields and turbulence. He also uses polarization datasets as a diagnostic tool to bridge numerical results and observational data.