83,987 research outputs found
A compiled catalog of rotation measures of radio point sources
We compiled a catalog of Faraday rotation measures (RMs) for 4553
extragalactic radio point sources ublished in literature. These RMs were
derived from multi-frequency polarization observations. The RM data are
compared to those in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) RM catalog. We reveal a
systematic uncertainty of about \,rad~m in the NVSS RM
catalog. The Galactic foreground RM is calculated through a weighted averaging
method by using the compiled RM catalog together with the NVSS RM catalog, with
careful consideration of uncertainties in the RM data. The data from the
catalog and the interface for the Galactic foreground RM calculations are
publicly available on the webpage: http://zmtt.bao.ac.cn/RM/.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. Published already, at
http://www.raa-journal.org/raa/index.php/raa/article/view/171
The observed spiral structure of the Milky Way
The spiral structure of the Milky Way is not yet well determined. The keys to
understanding this structure are to increase the number of reliable spiral
tracers and to determine their distances as accurately as possible. HII
regions, giant molecular clouds (GMCs), and 6.7-GHz methanol masers are closely
related to high mass star formation, and hence they are excellent spiral
tracers. We update the catalogs of Galactic HII regions, GMCs, and 6.7-GHz
methanol masers, and then outline the spiral structure of the Milky Way. We
collected data for more than 2500 known HII regions, 1300 GMCs, and 900 6.7-GHz
methanol masers. If the photometric or trigonometric distance was not yet
available, we determined the kinematic distance using a Galaxy rotation curve
with the current IAU standard, = 8.5 kpc and = 220 km
s, and the most recent updated values of = 8.3 kpc and
= 239 km s, after we modified the velocities of tracers with the adopted
solar motions. With the weight factors based on the excitation parameters of
HII regions or the masses of GMCs, we get the distributions of these spiral
tracers. The distribution of tracers shows at least four segments of arms in
the first Galactic quadrant, and three segments in the fourth quadrant. The
Perseus Arm and the Local Arm are also delineated by many bright HII regions.
The arm segments traced by massive star forming regions and GMCs are able to
match the HI arms in the outer Galaxy. We found that the models of three-arm
and four-arm logarithmic spirals are able to connect most spiral tracers. A
model of polynomial-logarithmic spirals is also proposed, which not only
delineates the tracer distribution, but also matches the observed tangential
directions.Comment: 22 Pages, 16 Figures, 7 Tables, updated to match the published
versio
The Galactic distribution of magnetic fields in molecular clouds and HII regions
{Magnetic fields exist on all scales in our Galaxy. There is a controversy
about whether the magnetic fields in molecular clouds are preserved from the
permeated magnetic fields in the interstellar medium (ISM) during cloud
formation. We investigate this controversy using available data in the light of
the newly revealed magnetic field structure of the Galactic disk obtained from
pulsar rotation measures (RMs).} % {We collected measurements of the magnetic
fields in molecular clouds, including Zeeman splitting data of OH masers in
clouds and OH or HI absorption or emission lines of clouds themselves.} % {The
Zeeman data show structures in the sign distribution of the line-of-sight
component of the magnetic field. Compared to the large-scale Galactic magnetic
fields derived from pulsar RMs, the sign distribution of the Zeeman data shows
similar large-scale field reversals. Previous such examinations were flawed in
the over-simplified global model used for the large-scale magnetic fields in
the Galactic disk.} % {We conclude that the magnetic fields in the clouds may
still ``remember'' the directions of magnetic fields in the Galactic ISM to
some extent, and could be used as complementary tracers of the large-scale
magnetic structure. More Zeeman data of OH masers in widely distributed clouds
are required.}Comment: Typo fixed in this new versio
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