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 Measurements of Cosmic Magnetism with LOFAR and SKA

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 399-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Interstellar Medium ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Intergalactic Medium ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Radio Telescopes ◽  
New Era ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Central Regions ◽  
Nearby Galaxies

Abstract. The origin of magnetic fields in stars, galaxies and clusters is an open problem in astrophysics. The next-generation radio telescopes Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) and Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will revolutionize the study of cosmic magnetism. "The origin and evolution of cosmic magnetism" is a key science project for SKA. The planned all-sky survey of Faraday rotation measures (RM) at 1.4 GHz will be used to model the structure and strength of the magnetic fields in the intergalactic medium, the interstellar medium of intervening galaxies, and in the Milky Way. A complementary survey of selected regions at around 200 MHz is planned as a key project for LOFAR. Spectro-polarimetry applied to the large number of spectral channels available for LOFAR and SKA will allow to separate RM components from distinct foreground and background regions and to perform 3-D Faraday tomography of the interstellar medium of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. – Deep polarization mapping with LOFAR and SKA will open a new era also in the observation of synchrotron emission from magnetic fields. LOFAR's sensitivity will allow to map the structure of weak, extended magnetic fields in the halos of galaxies, in galaxy clusters, and possibly in the intergalactic medium. Polarization observations with SKA at higher frequencies (1–10 GHz) will show the detailed magnetic field structure within the disks and central regions of galaxies, with much higher angular resolution than present-day radio telescopes.

scholarly journals The integrated polarization of spiral galaxies

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S259) ◽  
pp. 543-544
Author(s):  
Jeroen M. Stil ◽  
Marita Krause ◽  
Lydia Mitchell ◽  
Rainer Beck ◽  
A. Russell Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Radio Emission ◽  
Faraday Rotation ◽  
Statistical Study ◽  
Spiral Galaxies ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Cosmic Time ◽  
Disk Galaxies ◽  
Square Kilometre Array

AbstractWe present deep observations of polarized radio emission of distant spiral galaxies with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope† at 4.8 GHz. These cross scans with sensitivity of 50 μJy or better open the possibility of a statistical study of magnetic field properties and internal Faraday rotation as a function of inclination for a large sample of unresolved galaxies. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be able to detect polarization of spiral galaxies to high redshift, probing the evolution of magnetic fields in disk galaxies over cosmic time.

scholarly journals Probing the cold magnetised Universe with SPICA-POL (B-BOP)

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ph. André ◽  
A. Hughes ◽  
V. Guillet ◽  
F. Boulanger ◽  
A. Bracco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Dust Emission ◽  
Far Infrared ◽  
High Dynamic Range ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Infrared Telescope ◽  
Nearby Galaxies

Abstract Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), the cryogenic infrared space telescope recently pre-selected for a ‘Phase A’ concept study as one of the three remaining candidates for European Space Agency (ESA's) fifth medium class (M5) mission, is foreseen to include a far-infrared polarimetric imager [SPICA-POL, now called B-fields with BOlometers and Polarizers (B-BOP)], which would offer a unique opportunity to resolve major issues in our understanding of the nearby, cold magnetised Universe. This paper presents an overview of the main science drivers for B-BOP, including high dynamic range polarimetric imaging of the cold interstellar medium (ISM) in both our Milky Way and nearby galaxies. Thanks to a cooled telescope, B-BOP will deliver wide-field 100–350 $\mu$ m images of linearly polarised dust emission in Stokes Q and U with a resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and both intensity and spatial dynamic ranges comparable to those achieved by Herschel images of the cold ISM in total intensity (Stokes I). The B-BOP 200 $\mu$ m images will also have a factor $\sim $ 30 higher resolution than Planck polarisation data. This will make B-BOP a unique tool for characterising the statistical properties of the magnetised ISM and probing the role of magnetic fields in the formation and evolution of the interstellar web of dusty molecular filaments giving birth to most stars in our Galaxy. B-BOP will also be a powerful instrument for studying the magnetism of nearby galaxies and testing Galactic dynamo models, constraining the physics of dust grain alignment, informing the problem of the interaction of cosmic rays with molecular clouds, tracing magnetic fields in the inner layers of protoplanetary disks, and monitoring accretion bursts in embedded protostars.

scholarly journals Origin of strong magnetic fields in Milky Way-like galaxies

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S317) ◽  
pp. 274-275
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Beck
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Cosmic Time ◽  
Strong Magnetic Fields ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
The Universe

AbstractMagnetic fields are observed on all scales in the Universe (see e.g. Kronberg 1994), but little is known about the origin and evolution of those fields with cosmic time. Seed fields of arbitrary source must be amplified to present-day values and distributed among cosmic structures. Therefore, the emergence of cosmic magnetic fields and corresponding dynamo processes (see e.g. Zel'dovich et al. 1983; Kulsrud et al. 1997) can only be jointly understood with the very basic processes of structure and galaxy formation (see e.g. Mo et al. 2010).

scholarly journals Magnetic fields in our Milky Way Galaxy and nearby galaxies

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S294) ◽  
pp. 213-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
JinLin Han
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Spiral Galaxies ◽  
Large Scale Structure ◽  
Scale Structure ◽  
Measure Data ◽  
Submillimeter Wavelength ◽  
Nearby Galaxies

AbstractMagnetic fields in our Galaxy and nearby galaxies have been revealed by starlight polarization, polarized emission from dust grains and clouds at millimeter and submillimeter wavelength, the Zeeman effect of spectral lines or maser lines from clouds or clumps, diffuse radio synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons in interstellar magnetic fields, and the Faraday rotation of background radio sources as well as pulsars for our Milky Way. It is easy to get a global structure for magnetic fields in nearby galaxies, while we have observed many details of magnetic fields in our Milky Way, especially by using pulsar rotation measure data. In general, magnetic fields in spiral galaxies probably have a large-scale structure. The fields follow the spiral arms with or without the field direction reversals. In the halo of spiral galaxies magnetic fields exist and probably also have a large-scale structure as toroidal and poloidal fields, but seem to be slightly weaker than those in the disk. In the central region of some galaxies, poloidal fields have been detected as vertical components. Magnetic field directions in galaxies seem to have been preserved during cloud formation and star formation, from large-scale diffuse interstellar medium to molecular clouds and then to the cloud cores in star formation regions or clumps for the maser spots. Magnetic fields in galaxies are passive to dynamics.

scholarly journals Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy with JWST's NIRISS

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S319) ◽  
pp. 11-11
Author(s):  
William V. Dixon ◽  
Swara Ravindranath ◽  
Chris J. Willott
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Galaxy Cluster ◽  
Optical Emission ◽  
Resolving Power ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
First Stars ◽  
James Webb Space Telescope ◽  
Infrared Imager ◽  
High Redshift Universe

AbstractThe Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) aboard the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will offer wide-field slitless spectroscopy (WFSS) with a resolving power R = 150 at wavelengths from 0.8 to 2.25 microns. In this band, NIRISS will be sensitive to Lyman α emission lines and continuum breaks in the spectra of galaxies with redshifts 6 < z < 17, allowing it to probe the first stars and ionizing sources in the early universe. NIRISS observations of the high-redshift universe will provide a wealth of information on foreground objects, creating a unique library of optical emission-line spectra from the faintest galaxies at lower redshifts. To explore its ability to identify and characterize galaxies at all redshifts, we have modeled a NIRISS observation of a massive strong-lensing galaxy cluster and analyzed the synthetic images using standard software tools. Our simulations demonstrate that WFSS with NIRISS will provide a powerful tool for the exploration of galaxies near and far.

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 Magnetogenesis around the first galaxies: the impact of different field seeding processes on galaxy formation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Garaldi ◽  
Rüdiger Pakmor ◽  
Volker Springel
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Fields ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Ionization Fronts ◽  
Seed Field ◽  
Biermann Battery ◽  
First Galaxies ◽  
High Redshift Universe ◽  
The Impact

Abstract We study the evolution of magnetic fields generated by charge segregation ahead of ionization fronts during the Epoch of Reionization, and their effects on galaxy formation. We compare this magnetic seeding process with the Biermann battery, injection from supernovae, and an imposed seed field at redshift z ≳ 127. Using a suite of self-consistent cosmological and zoom-in simulations based on the Auriga galaxy-formation model, we determine that all mechanisms produce galactic magnetic fields that equally affect galaxy formation, and are nearly indistinguishable at z ≲ 1.5. The former is compatible with observed values, while the latter is correlated with the gas metallicity below a seed-dependent redshift. Low-density gas and haloes below a seed-dependent mass threshold retain memory of the initial magnetic field. We produce synthetic Faraday rotation measure maps, showing that they have the potential to constrain the seeding process, although current observations are not yet sensitive enough. Our results imply that the ad-hoc assumption of a primordial seed field – widely used in galaxy formation simulations but of uncertain physical origin – can be replaced by physically-motivated mechanisms for magnetogenesis with negligible impact on galactic properties. Additionally, magnetic fields generated ahead of ionization fronts appear very similar but weaker than those produced by the Biermann battery. Hence, in a realistic scenario where both mechanisms are active, the former will be negligible compared to the latter. Finally, our results highlight that the high-redshift Universe is a fruitful testing ground for our understanding of magnetic fields generation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document