Magnetic fields are a fundamental component of the intracluster medium (ICM), influencing its dynamics, transport processes, and non-thermal phenomena. Yet their strength and structure remain difficult to constrain observationally. This project aims to characterize ICM magnetic fields by connecting their properties to both thermal X-ray emission and non-thermal synchrotron radio emission. By developing and applying new observational diagnostics, we investigate the statistical properties and spatial organization of magnetic fields in galaxy clusters. In particular, our work has enabled the first observational mapping of magnetic-field topology within radio halos.

Relevant publications:

1. Synchrotron intensity gradient revealing magnetic fields in galaxy clusters. Nature Communications.

2. Statistics of gas density, velocity, and magnetic fields in cool-core galaxy clusters. arXiv:2505.08275.  

3. Anisotropic velocity fluctuations in galaxy mergers: a probe of the magnetic field.  arXiv:2410.08157.

4. Probing the magnetic field in galaxy clusters with the gradient technique.  arXiv:2007.06219.

Polarized Galactic foregrounds are a major obstacle to extracting the faint polarization signals of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), particularly the primordial B-mode component. This project develops physically motivated models of Galactic foreground polarization by connecting dust emission to the structure and dynamics of the multiphase interstellar medium. Using atomic hydrogen (HI) observations, turbulence diagnostics, and numerical simulations, we investigate how magnetic fields, velocity fluctuations, and phase structure shape the observed polarization patterns, including the E/B asymmetry. Our goal is to improve the modeling and removal of Galactic foregrounds while using polarization itself as a probe of the underlying magnetized ISM.

Relevant publications:

1. Galactic dust polarization in turbulent multiphase ISM: on the origin of the EE/BB asymmetry. arXiv:2601.17255 

2. Origin of the multi-phase interstellar medium: the effects of turbulence and magnetic field. arXiv:2505.07423

3. Modeling of galactic foreground polarization with velocity gradients. arXiv:2007.02184.

4. Predictions of CMB foreground dust polarization using the velocity gradient.  arXiv:1910.05637. 

Cosmic rays propagate through a turbulent and multiphase interstellar medium (ISM), where magnetic-field fluctuations, compressibility, and partial ionization fundamentally shape their transport. This project investigates how magnetohydrodynamic turbulence regulates cosmic-ray propagation across a broad range of astrophysical environments and particle energies. Using numerical simulations and theoretical models, we study the transition between different transport regimes, including parallel and perpendicular diffusion, superdiffusion, magnetic-mirror diffusion, and slow diffusion in strongly turbulent media. Our goal is to establish a physically unified picture of cosmic-ray transport and connect these transport processes to observable high-energy phenomena in the ISM.

Relevant publications:

1. Slow cosmic-ray diffusion in supersonic and super-Alfvénic turbulence. arXiv:2608.0844.

2. Diffusion of PeV cosmic rays in the turbulent and multiphase interstellar medium. arXiv:2604.04814.  

3. CR perpendicular superdiffusion and parallel mirror diffusion in a partially ionized and turbulent medium. arXiv:2505.07421.

4. Superdiffusion of CRs in compressible magnetized turbulence. arxiv:2111.15066. 

Magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, magnetic-field amplification, and magnetic reconnection are central to the dynamics of many astrophysical plasmas. This project investigates how these processes operate in highly turbulent and partially ionized environments, with particular emphasis on the nonlinear interaction between turbulence and magnetic fields. Using numerical simulations and theoretical analysis, we study how shocks and turbulent motions amplify magnetic fields, how magnetic reconnection generates and interacts with turbulence, and how partial ionization modifies both reconnection and the turbulent cascade. A complementary focus is the damping and redistribution of turbulent energy caused by ion-neutral decoupling, which can fundamentally alter the structure of turbulence below the coupling scale.

Turbulent dynamo and reconnection:

1. Plasmoid-mediated 2D magnetic reconnection in partially ionized plasmas. arXiv:2608.08448. 

2. Reconnection-driven turbulent fluctuations in the magnetically dominated collisionless regime. arXiv:2512.12516. 

3. Turbulent magnetic field amplification by the interaction of shock waves and inhomogeneous medium. arXiv:2207.06941. 

Turbulence damping due to neutral-ion decoupling:

1. Damping of turbulence in a partially ionized medium. arXiv:2306.10005. 

2. Mode energy partition in partially ionized compressible MHD turbulence. arXiv:2512.12517 

Artificial intelligence provides a powerful new avenue for extracting the three-dimensional structure of magnetic fields and turbulence from complex astrophysical observations. In this project, we develop physics-informed machine-learning methods to infer magnetic-field geometry, field strength, turbulent properties, and mode composition in both the interstellar medium (ISM) and the intracluster medium (ICM). Rather than treating AI as a purely predictive tool, we use interpretable models and physically motivated diagnostics to identify the observable signatures that encode the underlying magnetohydrodynamic physics. These methods enable us to recover information that is difficult to access with conventional techniques and provide a complementary framework for studying magnetized turbulence across a wide range of astrophysical environments.

Relevant publications:

1. Probing three-dimensional magnetic fields: II -- interpretable convolutional neural network. arXiv:2310.12555. 

2. Probing three-dimensional magnetic fields: III -- synchrotron emission and machine learning. arXiv:2404.07806.

3. Estimate the sonic Mach number in the interstellar medium with the convolutional neural network. arXiv:2411.11157.

4. Machine-learning estimation of energy fractions in MHD turbulence modes. arXiv:2511.04119 

Magnetic fields are a fundamental component of the interstellar medium (ISM), regulating gas dynamics, star formation, cosmic-ray propagation, and the evolution of the Galactic environment. Yet reconstructing their full three-dimensional geometry and strength remains one of the major observational challenges in astrophysics. This project develops physically motivated methods, grounded in the theory of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, to trace and characterize three-dimensional magnetic fields across a wide range of Galactic environments. By combining polarization, spectroscopic observations, velocity fluctuations, and turbulence diagnostics, we infer both magnetic-field orientation and strength and investigate their dynamical role from diffuse H I clouds to molecular clouds, the Galactic center, and galactic nuclei.

Relevant publications:

1. Multi-scale magnetic fields in the Central Molecular Zone. arXiv:2105.03605. 

2. Role of magnetic fields in fueling Seyfert nuclei. arXiv:2206.05423.

3. Probing three-dimensional magnetic fields: I -- polarized dust emission. arXiv:2203.09745.

4. Characterizing three-dimensional magnetic field, turbulence, and self-gravity in the star-forming region L1688. arXiv:2210.11023.

5. Mapping the Galactic magnetic field orientation and strength in three dimensions. arXiv:2302.05047.

6. Characterizing 3D magnetic fields and turbulence in H I clouds. arXiv:2505.07422