Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-11-14
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
to appear in proceedings for the conference "The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetic Fields", eds R. Beck, G. Brunetti, L.
Scientific paper
10.1002/asna.200610565
The Southern Galactic Plane Survey (SGPS) is a 1.4 GHz radio polarization and HI survey in a large part of the inner Galactic plane at a resolution of about an arcmin. Depolarization and Faraday rotation of polarized radiation from diffuse Galactic synchrotron emission, pulsars, and extragalactic sources can be used to infer information about the strength and structure of the Galactic magnetic field. Here, we discuss science results of the polarization data from the SGPS. We show from statistical analysis of rotation measures of polarized extragalactic sources that fluctuations in the magneto-ionized medium of the spiral arms are probably mainly caused by HII regions, while the rotation measure fluctuations in the interarm regions may be connected to the interstellar turbulent cascade. Furthermore, the variations of rotation measure with Galactic longitude enable modeling of the large-scale component of the Galactic magnetic field, including determination of the number and location of magnetic field reversals. Finally, the SGPS is an excellent way to study subparsec-scale structure in the ionized ISM by way of depolarization studies in HII regions.
Brown Jo-Anne C.
Dickey John M.
Gaensler Bryan M.
Green Anne J.
Haverkorn Marijke
No associations
LandOfFree
Magnetic fields in the Southern Galactic Plane Survey does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Magnetic fields in the Southern Galactic Plane Survey, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Magnetic fields in the Southern Galactic Plane Survey will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-7064