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Turbulent transport of galactic magnetic fields into cosmic voids: Insights from IllustrisTNG

Yuri Yamashita1,*, Hiroyuki Tashiro1, and Kiyotomo Ichiki1,2,3

  • *Contact author: yamashita.yuri.h4@s.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 083517 – Published 13 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/76ck-4yfs

Abstract

Astrophysical processes associated with galaxies may contribute to the magnetization of cosmic voids. We investigate the diffusion of galactic magnetic fields in an expanding Universe in the presence of turbulent magnetic diffusivity. To estimate the turbulent magnetic diffusivity, we analyze the TNG50-1 dataset of the IllustrisTNG simulation and derive its redshift dependence from the characteristic turbulent velocity and turbulent scale of the intergalactic medium. Using the resulting diffusivity, we find a present-day magnetic screening length of ∼7  Mpc, roughly 20 times larger than previous estimates based on a constant turbulent diffusivity due to the larger turbulent scale obtained in our analysis. This scale corresponds to a significant fraction of the characteristic size of cosmic voids and suggests that galactic magnetic fields can play a more important role in void magnetization than previously estimated.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 083517– Published 13 October, 2026
  • Received 21 July 2026
  • Accepted 21 September 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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