scholarly journals The Magnetic Field Near the Local Bubble

1997 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 227-238
Author(s):  
Carl Heiles

AbstractThere are almost no direct observational indicators of the magnetic field inside the local bubble. Just outside the bubble, the best tracers are stellar polarization and HI Zeeman splitting. These show that the local field does not follow the large-scale Galactic field. Here we discuss whether the deformation of the large-scale field by the local HI shells is consistent with the observations. We concentrate on the Loop 1 region, and find that the field lines are well-explained by this idea; in addition, the bright radio filaments of Radio Loop 1 delineate particular field lines that are “lit up” by an excess of relativistic electrons.

Author(s):  
R. R. Andreasyan ◽  
H. R. Andreasyan ◽  
G. M. Paronyan

To study some characteristics of the interstellar medium, observational data of pulsars with large Faraday rotation values (|RM| > 300 rad / m2) were used. It was suggested and justified that large |RM|values can be due to the contribution of the regions with increased electron concentration, projected on the pulsar. Most likely these are the HII regions, dark nebulae and molecular clouds. In these objects the magnetic field can be oriented in the direction of a large-scale field of the Galaxy, or simply is a deformed extension of the galactic field. It was shown that the Galactic distribution of rotation measures of pulsars with|RM|>300 rad/m2 corresponds to the circular model of the magnetic field of the Galaxy, with the counter-clockwise direction of the magnetic field in the galactocentric circle 5 kpc < R < 7 kpc.


1990 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 55-58
Author(s):  
James M. Cordes ◽  
Andrew Clegg ◽  
John Simonetti

We discuss small scale structure in the Galactic magnetic field as inferred from Faraday rotation measurements of extragalactic radio sources. The rotation measure data suggest a continuum of length scales extending from parsec scales down to at least 0.01 pc and perhaps to as small as 109 cm. Such turbulence in the magnetic field comprises a reservoir of energy that is comparable to the energy in the large scale field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 491 (4) ◽  
pp. 5660-5670 ◽  
Author(s):  
J-F Donati ◽  
J Bouvier ◽  
S H Alencar ◽  
C Moutou ◽  
L Malo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT This paper exploits spectropolarimetric data of the classical T Tauri star CI Tau collected with ESPaDOnS at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, with the aims of detecting and characterizing the large-scale magnetic field that the star hosts, and of investigating how the star interacts with the inner regions of its accretion disc through this field. Our data unambiguously show that CI Tau has a rotation period of 9.0 d, and that it hosts a strong, mainly poloidal large-scale field. Accretion at the surface of the star concentrates within a bright high-latitude chromospheric region that spatially overlaps with a large dark photospheric spot, in which the radial magnetic field reaches −3.7 kG. With a polar strength of −1.7 kG, the dipole component of the large-scale field is able to evacuate the central regions of the disc up to about 50 per cent of the co-rotation radius (at which the Keplerian orbital period equals the stellar rotation period) throughout our observations, during which the average accretion rate was found to be unusually high. We speculate that the magnetic field of CI Tau is strong enough to sustain most of the time a magnetospheric gap extending to at least 70 per cent of the co-rotation radius, which would explain why the rotation period of CI Tau is as long as 9 d. Our results also imply that the 9 d radial velocity (RV) modulation that CI Tau exhibits is attributable to stellar activity, and thus that the existence of the candidate close-in massive planet CI Tau b to which these RV fluctuations were first attributed needs to be reassessed with new evidence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory G. Howes ◽  
Sofiane Bourouaine

Plasma turbulence occurs ubiquitously in space and astrophysical plasmas, mediating the nonlinear transfer of energy from large-scale electromagnetic fields and plasma flows to small scales at which the energy may be ultimately converted to plasma heat. But plasma turbulence also generically leads to a tangling of the magnetic field that threads through the plasma. The resulting wander of the magnetic field lines may significantly impact a number of important physical processes, including the propagation of cosmic rays and energetic particles, confinement in magnetic fusion devices and the fundamental processes of turbulence, magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration. The various potential impacts of magnetic field line wander are reviewed in detail, and a number of important theoretical considerations are identified that may influence the development and saturation of magnetic field line wander in astrophysical plasma turbulence. The results of nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of kinetic Alfvén wave turbulence of sub-ion length scales are evaluated to understand the development and saturation of the turbulent magnetic energy spectrum and of the magnetic field line wander. It is found that turbulent space and astrophysical plasmas are generally expected to contain a stochastic magnetic field due to the tangling of the field by strong plasma turbulence. Future work will explore how the saturated magnetic field line wander varies as a function of the amplitude of the plasma turbulence and the ratio of the thermal to magnetic pressure, known as the plasma beta.


1990 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 445-445
Author(s):  
H. Sol ◽  
G. Pelletier ◽  
E. Asseo

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).


1993 ◽  
Vol 157 ◽  
pp. 283-297
Author(s):  
Rainer Beck

Results of linear αΩ-dynamo models are confronted with radio polarization observations of spiral galaxies. The general distribution of polarized emission and the magnetic field pitch angle can be described with sufficient accuracy. The occurrance of systematic large-scale variations in Faraday rotation (RM) is the strongest argument in favour of dynamo theory. However, the predominance of axisymmetric SO modes could not be confirmed by observations; S1 modes are about equally frequent. The azimuthal variations of field pitch angles and, in two cases, the phases of the RM variations are inconsistent with a classical αΩ-dynamo. Locally deviating RM values indicate field lines bending out of the plane. There is increasing evidence that galactic fields cannot be described by simple dynamo modes. This calls for more realistic dynamo models, taking into account non-axisymmetric velocity fields and galactic winds.Interpretation of radio observations is difficult because Faraday depolarization can seriously affect the data. Observations of small-scale field structures are summarized which show the path for future research. Instrumental needs for such investigations are discussed.


Galaxies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kouichi Hirotani

When a black hole accretes plasmas at very low accretion rate, an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) is formed. In an ADAF, relativistic electrons emit soft gamma-rays via Bremsstrahlung. Some MeV photons collide with each other to materialize as electron-positron pairs in the magnetosphere. Such pairs efficiently screen the electric field along the magnetic field lines, when the accretion rate is typically greater than 0.03–0.3% of the Eddington rate. However, when the accretion rate becomes smaller than this value, the number density of the created pairs becomes less than the rotationally induced Goldreich–Julian density. In such a charge-starved magnetosphere, an electric field arises along the magnetic field lines to accelerate charged leptons into ultra-relativistic energies, leading to an efficient TeV emission via an inverse-Compton (IC) process, spending a portion of the extracted hole’s rotational energy. In this review, we summarize the stationary lepton accelerator models in black hole magnetospheres. We apply the model to super-massive black holes and demonstrate that nearby low-luminosity active galactic nuclei are capable of emitting detectable gamma-rays between 0.1 and 30 TeV with the Cherenkov Telescope Array.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 75-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Kothes ◽  
Jo-Anne Brown

AbstractAs Supernova remnants expand, their shock waves are freezing in and compressing the magnetic field lines they encounter; consequently we can use Supernova remnants as magnifying glasses for their ambient magnetic fields. We will describe a simple model to determine emission, polarization, and rotation measure characteristics of adiabatically expanding Supernova remnants and how we can exploit this model to gain information about the large scale magnetic field in our Galaxy. We will give two examples: The SNR DA530, which is located high above the Galactic plane, reveals information about the magnetic field in the halo of our Galaxy. The SNR G182.4+4.3 is located close to the anti-centre of our Galaxy and reveals the most probable direction where the large-scale magnetic field is perpendicular to the line of sight. This may help to decide on the large-scale magnetic field configuration of our Galaxy. But more observations of SNRs are needed.


1981 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 373-391
Author(s):  
Gerhard Haerendel

Two processes are discussed which violate the frozen-in condition in a highly conducting plasma, reconnection and the auroral acceleration process. The first applies to situations in which . It plays an important role in the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field and controls energy input into as well as energetic particle release from the magnetosphere. Detailed in situ studies of the process on the dayside magnetopause reveal its transient and small-scale nature. The auroral acceleration process occurs in the low magnetosphere (β « 1) and accompanies sudden releases of magnetic shear stresses which exist in large-scale magnetospheric-ionospheric current circuits. The process is interpreted as a kind of breaking. The movements of the magnetospheric plasma which lead to a relief of the magnetic tensions occur in thin sheets and are decoupled along the magnetic field lines by parallel electric potential drops. It is this voltage that accelerates the primary auroral particles. The visible arcs are then traces of the magnetic breaking process at several 1000 km altitude.


1990 ◽  
Vol 138 ◽  
pp. 391-394
Author(s):  
A.E. Dudorov ◽  
V.N. Krivodubskij ◽  
A.A. Ruzmaikin ◽  
T.V. Ruzmaikina

The behaviour of the magnetic field during the formation and evolution of the Sun is investigated. It is shown that an internal poloidal magnetic field of the order of 104 − 105 G near the core of the Sun may be compatible with differential rotation and with torsional waves, travelling along the magnetic field lines (Dudorov et al., 1989).


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