Young massive star clusters inhabit regions of star formation and play an essential role in the galactic evolution. They are sources of both thermal and non-thermal radiation, and they are effective cosmic ray accelerators. We present the 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modeling of the plasma flows in a young compact cluster at the evolutionary stage comprising multiple interacting supersonic winds of massive OB and WR stars. The modeling allows studying the partitioning of the mechanical energy injected by the winds between the bulk motions, thermal heating and magnetic fields. Cluster-scale magnetic fields reaching the magnitudes of ∼ 300 μG show the filamentary structures spreading throughout the cluster core. The filaments with the high magnetic fields are produced by the Axford-Cranfill type effect in the downstream of the wind termination shocks, which is amplified by a compression of the fields with the hot plasma thermal pressure in the central part of the cluster core. The hot (∼ a few keV) plasma is heated at the termination shocks of the stellar winds and compressed in the colliding postshock flows. We also discuss a possible role of the thermal conduction effects on the plasma flow, analyse temperature maps in the cluster core and the diffuse thermal X-ray emission spectra. The presence of high cluster-scale magnetic fields supports the possibility of high-energy cosmic ray acceleration in clusters at the given evolutionary stage.

For most elements, the isotopic ratios seen in cosmic rays (CRs) are similar to those in the solar wind. The most important exception to this is 22Ne/20Ne where the CR value is ∼ 5 times that of the solar wind. According to most recent models of nucleosynthesis, a large amount of 22Ne is generated in Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. In the winds of carbon sequence of WR stars, i.e., WC stars, the isotopic ratio 22Ne/20Ne can be much larger than in the solar wind. Here, we consider CRs produced by 22Ne-enriched WR winds in young massive star clusters assuming the acceleration occurs from an ensemble of shock waves from the massive stars’ winds. We estimate the fraction of all Galactic CRs such sources may produce for a given set of parameters.

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The fast stellar winds of massive stars, along with supernovae, determine the dynamics within the star-forming regions. Within a compact star cluster, counterpropagating supersonic MHD shock flows associated with winds and supernova remnants can provide favorable conditions for efficient Fermi I particle acceleration up to energies > 10 PeV over a short timescale of several hundred years. To model the nonthermal spectra of such systems it is necessary to know the complex structure of colliding supersonic flows. In this paper using the PLUTO code we study on a subparsec scale a 2D MHD model of the collision of a core-collapse supernova remnant with a magnetized wind of a hot rotating O-star. As a result the detailed high resolution (~ 10−4 pc) maps of density, magnetic field, and temperature during the the wind - supernova shell interaction are presented.

Fast stellar winds of young massive stars and supernovae play an essential role in the evolution of the interstellar medium in the Milky Way. They dominate the dynamics of the active starforming regions in starburst galaxies and in particularly their non-thermal radiation. The non-thermal emission from starburst galaxies NGC 253, M82, NGC 1068 was detected from radio to gamma-rays. To model the observed radiation, one needs to know the complex structure of the flows and magnetic fields in the starforming regions. In this work a 2.5D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation (i.e., we consider 3D vector fields, but assume a 2D axisymmetric geometry) of the interaction between a stellar wind and a supernova remnant shock wave is carried out using the MHD module of the code PLUTO. The structure of the flows in the collision region is obtained taking into account the magnetic fields of the rotating source stars. We present the profiles of the bulk plasma velocity, density and magnetic field in the collision region. The amplification of regular magnetic fields in such systems is studied.