Magnetic Fields in the Milky Way, Derived from Radio Continuum Observations and Faraday Rotation Studies

2007 ◽  
pp. 89-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Wielebinski
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Radio Continuum

scholarly journals Magnetism in galaxies – Observational overview and next generation radio telescopes

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S274) ◽  
pp. 325-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Beck
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Radio Continuum ◽  
Continuum Emission ◽  
Radio Telescopes ◽  
Spiral Arms ◽  
Central Regions

AbstractThe strength and structure of cosmic magnetic fields is best studied by observations of radio continuum emission, its polarization and its Faraday rotation. Fields with a well-ordered spiral structure exist in many types of galaxies. Total field strengths in spiral arms and bars are 20–30 μG and dynamically important. Strong fields in central regions can drive gas inflows towards an active nucleus. The strongest regular fields (10–15 μG) are found in interarm regions, sometimes forming “magnetic spiral arms” between the optical arms. The typical degree of polarization is a few % in spiral arms, but high (up to 50%) in interarm regions. The detailed field structures suggest interaction with gas flows. Faraday rotation measures of the polarization vectors reveals large-scale patterns in several spiral galaxies which are regarded as signatures of large-scale (coherent) fields generated by dynamos. – Polarization observations with the forthcoming large radio telescopes will open a new era in the observation of magnetic fields and should help to understand their origin. Low-frequency radio synchrotron emission traces low-energy cosmic ray electrons which can propagate further away from their origin. LOFAR (30–240 MHz) will allow us to map the structure of weak magnetic fields in the outer regions and halos of galaxies, in galaxy clusters and in the Milky Way. Polarization at higher frequencies (1–10 GHz), to be observed with the EVLA, MeerKAT, APERTIF and the SKA, will trace magnetic fields in the disks and central regions of galaxies in unprecedented detail. All-sky surveys of Faraday rotation measures towards a dense grid of polarized background sources with ASKAP and the SKA are dedicated to measure magnetic fields in distant intervening galaxies and clusters, and will be used to model the overall structure and strength of the magnetic field in the Milky Way.

scholarly journals Magnetic Fields and Spiral Structure

1983 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 159-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Spiral Structure ◽  
Radio Continuum ◽  
Continuum Emission ◽  
Radio Telescopes ◽  
Evolution Of Galaxies ◽  
Structure Strength ◽  
Spiral Structures

Interstellar magnetic fields are known to be a constraint for star formation, but their influence on the formation of spiral structures and the evolution of galaxies is generally neglected. Structure, strength and degree of uniformity of interstellar magnetic fields can be determined by measuring the linearly polarised radio continuum emission at several frequencies (e.g. Beck, 1982). Results for 7 galaxies observed until now with the Effelsberg and Westerbork radio telescopes are given in the table. The Milky Way is also included for comparison.

scholarly journals Measuring interstellar magnetic fields by radio synchrotron emission

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 3-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Beck
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Synchrotron Emission ◽  
Intensity Measures ◽  
Spiral Arms ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Ordered Fields

AbstractRadio synchrotron emission, its polarization and its Faraday rotation are powerful tools to study the strength and structure of interstellar magnetic fields. The total intensity traces the strength and distribution of total magnetic fields. Total fields in gas-rich spiral arms and bars of nearby galaxies have strengths of 20–30 μGauss, due to the amplification of turbulent fields, and are dynamically important. In the Milky Way, the total field strength is about 6 μG near the Sun and several 100 μG in filaments near the Galactic Center. – The polarized intensity measures ordered fields with a preferred orientation, which can be regular or anisotropic fields. Ordered fields with spiral structure exist in grand-design, barred, flocculent and even in irregular galaxies. The strongest ordered fields are found in interarm regions, sometimes forming “magnetic spiral arms” between the optical arms. Halo fields are X-shaped, probably due to outflows. – The Faraday rotation of the polarization vectors traces coherent regular fields which have a preferred direction. In some galaxies Faraday rotation reveals large-scale patterns which are signatures of dynamo fields. However, in most galaxies the field has a complicated structure and interacts with local gas flows. In the Milky Way, diffuse polarized radio emission and Faraday rotation of the polarized emission from pulsars and background sources show many small-scale and large-scale magnetic features, but the overall field structure in our Galaxy is still under debate.

scholarly journals Faraday rotation in CMB maps

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (S308) ◽  
pp. 626-627
Author(s):  
Beatriz Ruiz-Granados ◽  
Eduardo Battaner ◽  
Estrella Florido
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Cmb Polarization

AbstractWMAP CMB polarization maps have been used to detect a low signal of Faraday Rotation (FR). If this detection is not interpreted as simple noise, it could be produced:at the last scattering surface (LSS) (z=1100), being primordial,at Reionization (z=10),in the Milky Way.The second interpretation is favoured here. In this case magnetic fields at Reionization with peak values of the order of 10-8 G should produce this observational FR.

scholarly journals Cosmic magnetism with the Square Kilometre Array and its pathfinders

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 645-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan M. Gaensler
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Square Kilometre Array ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Nearby Galaxies ◽  
High Redshift Universe

AbstractOne of the five key science projects for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is “The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetism”, in which radio polarimetry will be used to reveal what cosmic magnets look like and what role they have played in the evolving Universe. Many of the SKA prototypes now being built are also targeting magnetic fields and polarimetry as key science areas. Here I review the prospects for innovative new polarimetry and Faraday rotation experiments with forthcoming facilities such as ASKAP, LOFAR, the ATA, the EVLA, and ultimately the SKA. Sensitive wide-field polarisation surveys with these telescopes will provide a dramatic new view of magnetic fields in the Milky Way, in nearby galaxies and clusters, and in the high-redshift Universe.

scholarly journals An 84-μG Magnetic Field in a Galaxy at Z=0.692?

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S254) ◽  
pp. 95-96
Author(s):  
Arthur M. Wolfe ◽  
Regina A. Jorgenson ◽  
Timothy Robishaw ◽  
Carl Heiles ◽  
Jason X. Prochaska
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dynamo Model ◽  
Magnetic Field Generation ◽  
Interstellar Gas ◽  
Splitting Technique ◽  
Average Value ◽  
The Magnetic Field

AbstractThe magnetic field pervading our Galaxy is a crucial constituent of the interstellar medium: it mediates the dynamics of interstellar clouds, the energy density of cosmic rays, and the formation of stars (Beck 2005). The field associated with ionized interstellar gas has been determined through observations of pulsars in our Galaxy. Radio-frequency measurements of pulse dispersion and the rotation of the plane of linear polarization, i.e., Faraday rotation, yield an average value B ≈ 3 μG (Han et al. 2006). The possible detection of Faraday rotation of linearly polarized photons emitted by high-redshift quasars (Kronberg et al. 2008) suggests similar magnetic fields are present in foreground galaxies with redshifts z > 1. As Faraday rotation alone, however, determines neither the magnitude nor the redshift of the magnetic field, the strength of galactic magnetic fields at redshifts z > 0 remains uncertain.Here we report a measurement of a magnetic field of B ≈ 84 μG in a galaxy at z =0.692, using the same Zeeman-splitting technique that revealed an average value of B = 6 μG in the neutral interstellar gas of our Galaxy (Heiles et al. 2004). This is unexpected, as the leading theory of magnetic field generation, the mean-field dynamo model, predicts large-scale magnetic fields to be weaker in the past, rather than stronger (Parker 1970).The full text of this paper was published in Nature (Wolfe et al. 2008).

Observation of the nearest-neighbor magnetization step in CdS:Co by Faraday rotation in magnetic fields to 60 T

1995 ◽  
Vol 51 (24) ◽  
pp. 17561-17564 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dahl ◽  
D. Heiman ◽  
S. Foner ◽  
T. Q. Vu ◽  
R. Kershaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Nearest Neighbor

scholarly journals Implementation of a Faraday rotation diagnostic at the OMEGA laser facility

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rigby ◽  
J. Katz ◽  
A. F. A. Bott ◽  
T. G. White ◽  
P. Tzeferacos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Thomson Scattering ◽  
Proton Radiography ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Rotation Measurement ◽  
Laser Facility ◽  
Omega Laser

Magnetic field measurements in turbulent plasmas are often difficult to perform. Here we show that for ${\geqslant}$kG magnetic fields, a time-resolved Faraday rotation measurement can be made at the OMEGA laser facility. This diagnostic has been implemented using the Thomson scattering probe beam and the resultant path-integrated magnetic field has been compared with that of proton radiography. Accurate measurement of magnetic fields is essential for satisfying the scientific goals of many current laser–plasma experiments.

scholarly journals A Multi-Frequency Study of the Milky Way-Like Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda Yew ◽  
Miroslav D. Filipović ◽  
Quentin Roper ◽  
Jordan D. Collier ◽  
Evan J. Crawford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Radio Continuum ◽  
Starburst Galaxy ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Central Black Hole ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Continuum Data

AbstractWe present a multi-frequency study of the intermediate spiral SAB(r)bc type galaxy NGC 6744, using available data from the Chandra X-Ray telescope, radio continuum data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array and Murchison Widefield Array, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer infrared observations. We identify 117 X-ray sources and 280 radio sources. Of these, we find nine sources in common between the X-ray and radio catalogues, one of which is a faint central black hole with a bolometric radio luminosity similar to the Milky Way’s central black hole. We classify 5 objects as supernova remnant (SNR) candidates, 2 objects as likely SNRs, 17 as H ii regions, 1 source as an AGN; the remaining 255 radio sources are categorised as background objects and one X-ray source is classified as a foreground star. We find the star-formation rate (SFR) of NGC 6744 to be in the range 2.8–4.7 M⊙~yr − 1 signifying the galaxy is still actively forming stars. The specific SFR of NGC 6744 is greater than that of late-type spirals such as the Milky Way, but considerably less that that of a typical starburst galaxy.

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