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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 Mg ii absorption lines support this picture being marginally different with and without magnetic fields; both cases align 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.
