Other
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21913705p&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #137.05
Other
Scientific paper
The source of the Galactic magnetic field and the role it plays in the energy budget and evolution of the ISM is poorly understood. What sustains Galactic magnetic fields on Gyr timescales? How do these magnetic fields affect the evolution of the ISM? Are magnetic fields critical to setting up the conditions for star formation to begin? In my dissertation, I address these questions by measuring the properties of magnetic fields in the Milky Way and, for comparison, M51 with NIR starlight polarimetry. NIR starlight polarimetry traces the orientation of magnetic fields, in the plane of the sky, via aligned dust. I have generated all-sky starlight polarization predictions for a variety of Galactic magnetic field geometries. Combining these with new NIR polarimetry, I am able place constraints on the large-scale geometry of the Galactic magnetic field, and therefore the mechanism that generates that field. The spiral-type magnetic pitch angle is also measured in the outer Galaxy. For comparison, the face-on spiral galaxy M51 has been mapped with resolved NIR polarimetry. The magnetic differences between M51 and our Galaxy and their implications for dynamo-generated, large-scale magnetic fields are discussed. On smaller scales in the Milky Way, NIR polarimetry of individual infrared dark clouds and Galactic bubbles is shown. Combined with knowledge of the gas properties from 13CO radio data, magnetic field strengths can be estimated using the Chandrasekhar-Fermi method. This also allows me to compare magnetic pressure to other forces acting in these environments. The implications for the energy budget of the ISM and the effect magnetic fields have on the evolution of these objects are discussed.
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