scholarly journals 8.1. Magnetic phenomena in galactic nuclei

1998 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 331-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Morris
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Galactic Disk ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Relativistic Electrons ◽  
Predominant Orientation ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Intercloud Medium

The magnetic environment of the Galactic nucleus contrasts sharply with that of the Galactic disk. The inner few hundred parsecs of our Galaxy appear to be dominated by a strong (~milligauss) and uniform dipole field which dominates the pressure within the central intercloud medium. An attractive hypothesis for the origin of the central vertical field is that it results from the concentration of protogalactic field by radial inflow of gas throughout the Galaxy's lifetime. The predominant orientation of the magnetic field within dense molecular clouds is parallel to the galactic plane, which can be understood in terms of the strong tidal shear to which these clouds are subjected. The contrasting geometries of the cloud and intercloud fields allow for magnetic field line reconnection at cloud surfaces, which, under the right circumstances, could produce the relativistic electrons which delineate the nonthermal radio filaments near the Galactic center with their synchrotron emission. The characteristics of the Galactic center “magnetosphere” should be generalizable to all gas-rich spiral galaxies. Inadequate spatial resolution currently prevents us from exploring magnetic fields in other galactic nuclei to the same depth as in the Galactic center, but existing evidence is consistent with similar magnetic geometries elsewhere.

scholarly journals The geometry of the magnetic field in the central molecular zone measured by PILOT

2019 ◽  
Vol 630 ◽  
pp. A74 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mangilli ◽  
J. Aumont ◽  
J.-Ph. Bernard ◽  
A. Buzzelli ◽  
G. de Gasperis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Angular Resolution ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Mean Field ◽  
Field Orientation ◽  
Center Region ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Magnetic Field

We present the first far infrared (FIR) dust emission polarization map covering the full extent of Milky Way’s central molecular zone (CMZ). The data, obtained with the PILOT balloon-borne experiment, covers the Galactic center region − 2° < ℓ < 2°, − 4° < b < 3° at a wavelength of 240 μm and an angular resolution of 2.2′. From our measured dust polarization angles, we infer a magnetic field orientation projected onto the plane of the sky (POS) that is remarkably ordered over the full extent of the CMZ, with an average tilt angle of ≃22° clockwise with respect to the Galactic plane. Our results confirm previous claims that the field traced by dust polarized emission is oriented nearly orthogonally to the field traced by GHz radio synchrotron emission in the Galactic center region. The observed field structure is globally compatible with the latest Planck polarization data at 353 and 217 GHz. Upon subtraction of the extended emission in our data, the mean field orientation that we obtain shows good agreement with the mean field orientation measured at higher angular resolution by the JCMT within the 20 and 50 km s−1 molecular clouds. We find no evidence that the magnetic field orientation is related to the 100 pc twisted ring structure within the CMZ. The low polarization fraction in the Galactic center region measured with Planck at 353 GHz combined with a highly ordered projected field orientation is unusual. This feature actually extends to the whole inner Galactic plane. We propose that it could be caused by the increased number of turbulent cells for the long lines of sight towards the inner Galactic plane or to dust properties specific to the inner regions of the Galaxy. Assuming equipartition between magnetic pressure and ram pressure, we obtain magnetic field strength estimates of the order of 1 mG for several CMZ molecular clouds.

scholarly journals What are the Radio Filaments Near the Galactic Center?

1996 ◽  
Vol 169 ◽  
pp. 247-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Morris
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Local Source ◽  
Flux Tubes ◽  
Flux Lines ◽  
Magnetic Flux Tubes ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Relativistic Particles ◽  
Projected Distance

A population of nonthermally-emitting radio filaments tens of parsecs in length has been observed within a projected distance of ∼130 pc of the Galactic center. More or less perpendicular to the Galactic plane, they appear to define the flux lines of a milligauss magnetic field. The characteristics of the known filaments are summarized. Three fundamental questions raised by these structures are discussed: 1) Do they represent magnetic flux tubes embedded within an ubiquitous, dipole magnetic field permeating the inner Galaxy, but which have been illuminated by some local source of relativistic particles, or are they instead isolated, self-sustaining current paths with an approximately force-free magnetic configuration in pressure equilibrium with the interstellar medium? 2) What is the source of either the magnetic field or the current? and 3) What is the source of the relativistic particles which provide the illuminating synchrotron radiation? We are nearer an answer to the the last of these questions than to the others, although several interesting models have been proposed.

scholarly journals Filamentary Structures Near the Galactic Center

1989 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 243-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Yusef-Zadeh
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Galactic Rotation ◽  
Physical Interaction ◽  
Magnetic Structures ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
The Magnetic Field

Recent studies of the Galactic center environment have revealed a wealth of new thermal and nonthermal features with unusual characteristics. A system of nonthermal filamentary structures tracing magnetic field lines are found to extend over 200pc in the direction perpendicular to the Galactic plane. Ionized structures, like nonthermal features, appear filamentary and show forbidden velocity fields in the sense of Galactic rotation and large line widths. Faraday rotation characteristics and the flat spectral index distributions of the nonthermal filaments suggest a mixture of thermal and nonthermal gas. Furthermore, the relative spatial distributions of the magnetic structures with respect to those of the ionized and molecular gas suggest a physical interaction between these two systems. In spite of numerous questions concerning the origin of the large-scale organized magnetic structures, the mechanism by which particles are accelerated to relativistic energies, and the source or sources of heating the dust and gas, recent studies have been able to distinguish the inner 200pc of the nucleus from the disk of the Galaxy in at least two more respects: (1) the recognition that the magnetic field has a large-scale structure and is strong, uniform and dynamically important; and (2) the physics of interstellar matter may be dominated by the poloidal component of the magnetic field.

scholarly journals The Strong Magnetic Field Galactic Center-AGN-Quasar Model

1989 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 335-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard D. Greyber
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Strong Magnetic Field ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Galactic Disk ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Current Loop ◽  
Toroidal Plasma ◽  
Extended Radio ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Magnetic Field Model

The energy storage and dynamics at the center of galaxies is explained using a new construct, the gravitationally bound current loop (GBCL), produced when the galaxy formed under gravitational collapse. Thin toroidal plasma around the slender intense relativistic current loop is bound to it by the Maxwell “frozen-field” condition, and also binds gravitationally to the central object (presumably a black hole). The Strong Magnetic Field model (SMF) explains directly the Milky Way (MW) galactic center radio observations of a vertical magnetic field perpendicular to the galactic disk and the extended radio arcs, as well as the production of successive radio blobs ejected from the compact cores of active galactic nuclei (AGN) or quasars.

scholarly journals ON THE ROLE OF THE CURVATURE DRIFT INSTABILITY IN THE DYNAMICS OF ELECTRONS IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 1350081 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZAZA OSMANOV
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Rotational Energy ◽  
Relativistic Electrons ◽  
Field Lines ◽  
Drift Instability ◽  
The Magnetic Field ◽  
Relativistic Particles

We study the influence of the centrifugally driven curvature drift instability (CDI) on the dynamics of relativistic electrons in the magnetospheres of active galactic nuclei (AGN). We generalize in our previous paper by considering relativistic particles with different initial phases. Considering the Euler continuity and induction equations, by taking into account the resonant conditions, we derive the growth rate of the CDI. We show that due to the centrifugal effects, the rotational energy is efficiently pumped directly into the drift modes, that leads to the generation of a toroidal component of the magnetic field. As a result, the magnetic field lines transform into such a configuration when particles do not experience any forces and since the instability is centrifugally driven, at this stage the CDI is suspended.

scholarly journals The galactic magnetic field derived from cosmic-ray electrons

1968 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. S642-S645 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Okuda ◽  
Y. Tanaka
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Electron Spectrum ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Galactic Disk ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Field Configuration ◽  
Galactic Magnetic Field ◽  
Upper Limits ◽  
The Magnetic Field

An estimate of the galactic magnetic field is obtained by combining new results in the cosmic-ray electron spectrum and the recent radio data. The lower and upper limits of the magnetic field in the galactic disk are derived from two alternative models of field configuration; i.e. (0.5–1.0) × 10−5 gauss near the solar system and (1.0–2.0) × 10−5 gauss near the galactic center, respectively. The magnetic field in the halo is estimated to be larger than 2.5 × 10−6 gauss.

scholarly journals Remarkable Symmetries in the Milky Way Disc's Magnetic Field

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. P. Kronberg ◽  
K. J. Newton-McGee
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Structure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Galactic Disk ◽  
Field Structure ◽  
Field Pattern ◽  
Close Coupling ◽  
Sign Change

AbstractWe apply a new, expanded compilation of extragalactic source Faraday rotation measures (RM) to investigate the broad underlying magnetic structure of the Galactic disk at latitudes ∣b∣ ≲15° over all longitudes l, where our total number of RMs is comparable to those in the combined Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS) at ∣b∣ < 4° and the Southern Galactic Plane (SGPS) ∣b∣<1.5°. We report newly revealed, remarkably coherent patterns of RM at ∣b∣≲15° from l∼270° to ∼90° and RM(l) features of unprecedented clarity that replicate in l with opposite sign on opposite sides of the Galactic center. They confirm a highly patterned bisymmetric field structure toward the inner disc, an axisymmetic pattern toward the outer disc, and a very close coupling between the CGPS/SGPS RMs at ∣b∣≲3° (‘mid-plane’) and our new RMs up to ∣b∣∼15° (‘near-plane’). Our analysis also shows the vertical height of the coherent component of the disc field above the Galactic disc's mid-plane—to be ∼1.5 kpc out to ∼6 kpc from the Sun. This identifies the approximate height of a transition layer to the halo field structure. We find no RM sign change across the plane within ∣b∣∼15° in any longitude range. The prevailing disc field pattern and its striking degree of large-scale ordering confirm that our side of the Milky Way has a very organized underlying magnetic structure, for which the inward spiral pitch angle is 5.5°±1° at all ∣b∣ up to ∼12° in the inner semicircle of Galactic longitudes. It decreases to ∼0° toward the anticentre.

scholarly journals The magnetic structure of our Galaxy: a review of observations

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 455-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
JinLin Han
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Magnetic Structure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Galactic Halo ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Galactic Plane ◽  
Galactic Disk ◽  
Dust Emission ◽  
Measure Data ◽  
Radio Sources

AbstractThe magnetic structure in the Galactic disk, the Galactic center and the Galactic halo can be delineated more clearly than ever before. In the Galactic disk, the magnetic structure has been revealed by starlight polarization within 2 or 3 kpc of the Solar vicinity, by the distribution of the Zeeman splitting of OH masers in two or three nearby spiral arms, and by pulsar dispersion measures and rotation measures in nearly half of the disk. The polarized thermal dust emission of clouds at infrared, mm and submm wavelengths and the diffuse synchrotron emission are also related to the large-scale magnetic field in the disk. The rotation measures of extragalactic radio sources at low Galactic latitudes can be modeled by electron distributions and large-scale magnetic fields. The statistical properties of the magnetized interstellar medium at various scales have been studied using rotation measure data and polarization data. In the Galactic center, the non-thermal filaments indicate poloidal fields. There is no consensus on the field strength, maybe mG, maybe tens of μG. The polarized dust emission and much enhanced rotation measures of background radio sources are probably related to toroidal fields. In the Galactic halo, the antisymmetric RM sky reveals large-scale toroidal fields with reversed directions above and below the Galactic plane. Magnetic fields from all parts of our Galaxy are connected to form a global field structure. More observations are needed to explore the untouched regions and delineate how fields in different parts are connected.

scholarly journals Importance of Magnetic Effects in a Two-Flow Model for Extragalactic Radio Jets

1990 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 445-445
Author(s):  
H. Sol ◽  
G. Pelletier ◽  
E. Asseo
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Flow Model ◽  
Minimal Distance ◽  
Relativistic Electrons ◽  
Ambient Plasma ◽  
Relaxation Zone ◽  
Radio Jets ◽  
The Magnetic Field

We propose a model for extragalactic radio jets in which two different flows of particles are taken into account, (i) a beam of relativistic electrons and positrons extracted from the funnel of accretion disc and responsible for the observed superluminal motion, (ii) a classical or mildly relativistic wind of electrons and protons coming out from all parts of the disc (Sol et al., 1989). Studying the mutual interaction of the two flows, we show that the configuration is not destroyed by the plasma-beam instability as long as the magnetic field, assumed longitudinal, is strong enough, with an electron gyrofrequency ωc = eB/mec greater than the ambient plasma frequency ωp = (4πnpe2)1/2 (Pelletier et al., 1988). When ωc < ωp, the relativistic beam loses its energy and its momentum mainly through the development of strong Langmuir turbulence in the wind, and disappears quietly after some relaxation zone where heating and entrainment of the wind occur. This emphasizes one aspect of the important role likely played by the magnetic field in the dynamics of extragalactic jets and provides one example in which the magnetic field, acting on the microscopic scale of an interaction, induces strong effects on large–scale structures. Detailed data on the closest known superluminal radio source 3C120 (Walker et al., 1987, 1988; Benson et al., 1988) allow a check on the likelihood of our model. Observational estimates of the variation along the jet of the magnetic field and of the ambient plasma density np suggest that the magnetic field reaches its critical value (corresponding to ωc = ωp) at a minimal distance of about 1.4 kpc from the central engine. This is amazingly close to the location of the 4′–radio knot, a “rather curious structure” described by Walker et al. (1987), which we interpret as the beam relaxation zone in the context of our two–flow model (Sol et al., 1989).

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