Radio filaments as Z-pinched Galactic center wind

Abstract

In this brief note, we tentatively investigate the possibility that the radio filaments are produced when the Galactic center wind washes over magnetic field structures. The electrons and ions, with their disparate charge-to-mass ratios, are deflected differently by the magnetic field, and a current results. The current is subsequently Z-pinched into filaments, creating an electron-accelerating electric field along the way, because the magnetic field necessarily rearranges during the dynamic constriction process. An axial magnetic field also arises, possibly via the diocotron channel, to eventually quench the pinching and stabilize the filaments against a variety of instabilities.