Bibcode
Ruiz-Granados, B.; Rubiño-Martín, J. A.; Battaner, E.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 522, id.A73
Advertised on:
11
2010
Journal
Citations
24
Refereed citations
20
Description
Context. The knowledge of the regular (large scale) component of the
Galactic magnetic field gives important information about the structure
and dynamics of the Milky Way, and also constitutes a basic tool to
determine cosmic ray trajectories. It can also provide clear windows
where primordial magnetic fields could be detected. Aims: We aim
to obtain the regular (large scale) pattern of the magnetic field
distribution of the Milky Way that better fits the polarized synchrotron
emission as seen by the WMAP satellite in the 5 years data at 22 GHz.
Methods: We have done a systematic study of a number of Galactic
magnetic field models: axisymmetric (with and without radial dependence
on the field strength), bisymmetric (with and without radial
dependence), logarithmic spiral arms, concentric circular rings with
reversals and bi-toroidal. We have explored the parameter space defining
each of these models using a grid-based approach. In total, more than
one million models were computed. The model selection was done using a
Bayesian approach. For each model, the posterior distributions were
obtained and marginalized over the unwanted parameters to obtain the
marginal (one-parameter) probability distribution functions.
Results: In general, axisymmetric models provide a better description of
the halo component, although with regard to their goodness-of-fit, the
other models cannot be rejected. In the case of the disk component, the
analysis is not very sensitive for obtaining the disk large-scale
structure, because of the effective available area (less than 8% of the
whole map and less than 40% of the disk). Nevertheless, within a given
family of models, the best-fit parameters are compatible with those
found in the literature. Conclusions: The family of models that
better describes the polarized synchrotron halo emission is the
axisymmetric one, with magnetic spiral arms with a pitch angle of
≈24°, and a strong vertical field of 1 μG at z ≈ 1 kpc.
When a radial variation is fitted, models require fast variations.
Related projects
Anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background
The general goal of this project is to determine and characterize the spatial and spectral variations in the temperature and polarisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background in angular scales from several arcminutes to several degrees. The primordial matter density fluctuations which originated the structure in the matter distribution of the present
Rafael
Rebolo López