3,629 research outputs found
Understanding the Geometry of Astrophysical Magnetic Fields
Faraday rotation measurements have provided an invaluable technique with
which to measure the properties of astrophysical magnetized plasmas.
Unfortunately, typical observations provide information only about the
density-weighted average of the magnetic field component parallel to the line
of sight. As a result, the magnetic field geometry along the line of sight, and
in many cases even the location of the rotating material, is poorly
constrained. Frequently, interpretations of Faraday rotation observations are
dependent upon underlying models of the magnetic field being probed (e.g.,
uniform, turbulent, equipartition). However, we show that at sufficiently low
frequencies, specifically below roughly 13 (RM/rad m^-2)^(1/4) (B/G)^(1/2) MHz,
the character of Faraday rotation changes, entering what we term the
``super-adiabatic regime'' in which the rotation measure is proportional to the
integrated absolute value of the line-of-sight component of the field. As a
consequence, comparing rotation measures at high frequencies with those in this
new regime provides direct information about the geometry of the magnetic field
along the line of sight. Furthermore, the frequency defining the transition to
this new regime, nu_SA, depends directly upon the local electron density and
magnetic field strength where the magnetic field is perpendicular to the line
of sight, allowing the unambiguous distinction between Faraday rotation within
and in front of the emission region. Typical values of nu_SA range from 10 kHz
to 10 GHz, depending upon the details of the Faraday rotating environment. In
particular, for resolved AGN, including the black holes at the center of the
Milky Way (Sgr A*) and M81, nu_SA ranges from roughly 10 MHz to 10 GHz, and
thus can be probed via existing and up-coming ground-based radio observatories.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Ap
Practical Modeling of Large-Scale Galactic Magnetic Fields: Status and Prospects
This is a review of the status of efforts to model the large-scale Galactic
magnetic field (GMF). Though important for a variety of astrophysical
processes, the GMF remains poorly understood despite some interesting new
tracers being used in the field. Though we still have too many models that
might fit the data, this is not to say that the field has not developed in the
last few years. In particular, surveys of polarized dust have given us a new
observable that is complementary to the more traditional radio tracers, and a
variety of other new tracers and related measurements are becoming available to
improve current modeling. This paper reviews: the tracers available; the models
that have been studied; what has been learned so far; what the caveats and
outstanding issues are; and one opinion of where the most promising future
avenues of exploration lie.Comment: Published in Galaxies special issue "New Perspectives on Galactic
Magnetism" (with minor formatting differences). v2 fixes some reference
Spectropolarimetric observations of the Ca II 8498 A and 8542 A lines in the quiet Sun
The Ca II infrared triplet is one of the few magnetically sensitive
chromospheric lines available for ground-based observations. We present
spectropolarimetric observations of the 8498 A and 8542 A lines in a quiet Sun
region near a decaying active region and compare the results with a simulation
of the lines in a high plasma-beta regime. Cluster analysis of Stokes V profile
pairs shows that the two lines, despite arguably being formed fairly close,
often do not have similar shapes. In the network, the local magnetic topology
is more important in determining the shapes of the Stokes V profiles than the
phase of the wave, contrary to what our simulations show. We also find that
Stokes V asymmetries are very common in the network, and the histograms of the
observed amplitude and area asymmetries differ significantly from the
simulation. Both the network and internetwork show oscillatory behavior in the
Ca II lines. It is stronger in the network, where shocking waves, similar to
those in the high-beta simulation, are seen and large self-reversals in the
intensity profiles are common.Comment: 23 pages, 17 figures, accepted to ApJ some figures are low-res, for
high-res email [email protected]
Magnetic structure of our Galaxy: A review of observations
The 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 uG. 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.Comment: 10+1 pages. Invited Review for IAU Symp.259: Cosmic Magnetic Fields:
From Planets, to Stars and Galaxies (Tenerife, Spain. Nov.3-7, 2009). K.G.
Strassmeier, A.G. Kosovichev & J.E. Beckman (eds.
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