Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-09-27
Astrophys.J.637:19-26,2006
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, to appear in the Astrophysical Journal
Scientific paper
10.1086/498336
Faraday rotation of radio source polarization provides a measure of the integrated magnetic field along the observational lines of sight. We compare a new, large sample of Faraday rotation measures (RMs) of polarized extragalactic sources with galaxy counts in Hercules and Perseus-Pisces, two nearby superclusters. We find that the average of RMs in these two supercluster areas are larger than in control areas in the same galactic latitude range. This is the first RM detection of magnetic fields that pervade a supercluster volume, in which case the fields are at least partially coherent over several megaparsecs. Even the most conservative interpretation of our observations, according to which Milky Way RM variations mimic the background supercluster galaxy overdensities, puts constraints on the IGM magneto-ionic ``strength'' in these two superclusters. We obtain an approximate typical upper limit on the field strength of about 0.3 microGauss l/(500 kpc), when we combine our RM data with fiducial estimates of electron density from the environments of giant radio galaxies, and of the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM).
Dufton Quentin W.
Habib Salman
Kronberg Philipp P.
Xu Yongzhong
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