Polarization of submillimetre lines from interstellar medium
- Magnetic fields play important roles in many astrophysical processes. However, there is no universal diagnostic for the magnetic fields in the interstellar medium (ISM) and each magnetic tracer has its limitation. Any new detection method is thus valuable. Theoretical studies have shown that submillimetre fine-structure lines are polarized due to atomic alignment by ultraviolet photon-excitation, which opens up a new avenue to probe interstellar magnetic fields. We will, for the first time, perform synthetic observations on the simulated three-dimensional ISM to demonstrate the measurability of the polarization of submillimetre atomic lines. The maximum polarization for different absorption and emission lines expected from various sources, including star-forming regions are provided. Our results demonstrate that the polarization of submillimetre atomic lines is a powerful magnetic tracer and add great value to the observational studies of the submilimetre astronomy.
Author details: | Heshou ZhangORCiDGND, Huirong YanORCiDGND |
---|---|
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx3164 |
ISSN: | 0035-8711 |
ISSN: | 1365-2966 |
Title of parent work (English): | Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Place of publishing: | Oxford |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2017/12/08 |
Publication year: | 2018 |
Release date: | 2022/01/03 |
Tag: | H II regions; ISM: magnetic fields; photodissociation region (PDR); polarization; submillimetre: ISM; turbulence |
Volume: | 475 |
Issue: | 2 |
Number of pages: | 6 |
First page: | 2415 |
Last Page: | 2420 |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 53 Physik / 530 Physik |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Green Open-Access |
External remark: | Correction: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab366 |