New constraints on the magnetization of the cosmic web using LOFAR Faraday rotation observations
S. P. O'Sullivan, M. Brüggen, F. Vazza, E. Carretti, N. Locatelli, C. Stuardi, V. Vacca, T. Vernstrom, G. Heald, C. Horellou, T. W. Shimwell, M. J. Hardcastle, … 展开作者
S. P. O'Sullivan, M. Brüggen, F. Vazza, E. Carretti, N. Locatelli, C. Stuardi, V. Vacca, T. Vernstrom, G. Heald, C. Horellou, T. W. Shimwell, M. J. Hardcastle, C. Tasse, H. Röttgering
Measuring the properties of extragalactic magnetic fields through the effect of Faraday rotation provides a means to understand the origin and evolution of cosmic magnetism. Here we use data from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) to calculate the Faraday rotation measure (RM) of close pairs of extragalactic radio sources. By considering the RM difference ($Δ$RM) between physical pairs (e.g. double-lobed radio galaxies) and non-physical pairs (i.e. close projected sources on the sky), we statistically isolate the contribution of extragalactic magnetic fields to $Δ$RM along the line of sight between non-physical pairs. From our analysis, we find no significant difference between the $Δ$RM distributions of the physical and non-physical pairs, limiting the excess Faraday rotation contribution to $< 1.9$ rad/m$^2$ ($\sim$$95\%$ confidence). We use this limit with a simple model of an inhomogeneous universe to place an upper limit of 4 nG on the cosmological co-moving magnetic field strength on Mpc scales. We also compare the RM data with a more realistic suite of cosmological MHD simulations, that explore different magnetogenesis scenarios. Both magnetization of the large scale structure by astrophysical processes such as galactic and AGN outflows, and simple primordial scenarios with seed magnetic field strengths $< 0.5$ nG cannot be rejected by the current data; while stronger primordial fields or models with dynamo amplification in filaments are disfavoured.
The technique of Faraday tomography is a key tool for the study of magnetised plasmas in the new era of broadband radio polarisation observations. In particular, observations at metre-wavelengths provide significantly better Faraday depth accuracies compared to traditional cm-wavelength observations. However, the effect of Faraday depolarisation makes the polarised signal very challenging to detect at metre wavelengths (MHz frequencies). In this work, Faraday tomography is used to characterise the Faraday rotation properties of polarised sources found in data from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Surve…
A Faraday rotation measure (RM) catalogue, or RM Grid, is a valuable resource for the study of cosmic magnetism. Using the second data release (DR2) from the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS), we have produced a catalogue of 2461 extragalactic high-precision RM values across 5720 deg$^{2}$ of sky (corresponding to a polarized source areal number density of $\sim$0.43 deg$^{-2}$). The linear polarization and RM properties were derived using RM synthesis from the Stokes $Q$ and $U$ channel images at an angular resolution of 20'' across a frequency range of 120 to 168 MHz with a channel bandwidt…
Giant radio galaxies (GRGs) are physically large radio sources that extend well beyond their host galaxy environment. Their polarization properties are affected by the poorly constrained magnetic field that permeates the intergalactic medium on Mpc scales. A low frequency ($<$ 200 MHz) polarization study of this class of radio sources is now possible with LOFAR. Here we investigate the polarization properties and Faraday rotation measure (RM) of a catalog of GRGs detected in the LoTSS. This is the first low-frequency polarization study of a large sample of radio galaxies selected on their phys…
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be both the largest radio telescope ever constructed and the largest Big Data project in the known Universe. The first phase of the project will generate on the order of 5 zettabytes of data per year. A critical task for the SKA will be its ability to process data for science, which will need to be conducted by science pipelines. Together with polarization data from the LOFAR Multifrequency Snapshot Sky Survey (MSSS), we have been developing a realistic SKA-like science pipeline that can handle the large data volumes generated by LOFAR at 150 MHz. The pipe…
The detection of filaments in the cosmic web will be crucial to distinguish between the possible magnetogenesis scenarios and future large polarization surveys will be able to shed light on their magnetization level. In this work, we use numerical simulations of galaxy clusters to investigate their possible detection. We compute the Faraday Rotation signal in intracluster filaments and compare it to its surrounding environment. We find that the expected big improvement in sensitivity with the SKA-MID will in principle allow the detection of a large fraction of filaments surrounding galaxy clus…
The topology of the magnetic field in Abell 2255 out to its virial radius. Results from the LOFAR Galaxy Cluster Ultra-Deep Field
INAF - IRA（意大利国家天体物理研究所-博洛涅分院）；Leiden Observatory, Leiden University（莱顿大学莱顿天文台）；Institute for Advanced Study（普林斯顿高等研究院）；Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna（博洛尼亚大学物理与天文学系）；Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian（哈佛&史密森尼天体物理中心）；Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison（威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校天文学系）；ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy（荷兰射电天文研究所）；Hamburger Sternwarte, Universität Hamburg（汉堡大学汉堡天文台）；INAF - IASF Milano（意大利国家天体物理研究所-米兰天文物理研究所）
Dark matter is a major constituent of our universe and the axion is a prime candidate. In this article, it is shown that by exploiting the axion induced magnetization in a magnetic rod and the Faraday effect, axions in the mass range $500$ to $5000~μ$eV, a part of which ($> 3500~μ$eV) is currently inaccessible to experiments, can be searched for using the same experimental setup in a year using the existing technologies. The magnetic rod is placed inside a high finesse optical cavity, which by confining the probe light inside it increases the interaction time and thus enhances the Faraday effe…
We study the effects of galaxy formation physics on the magnetization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) using the IllustrisTNG simulations. We demonstrate that large-scale regions affected by the outflows from galaxies and clusters contain magnetic fields that are several orders of magnitude stronger than in unaffected regions with the same electron density. Moreover, like magnetic fields amplified inside galaxies, these magnetic fields do not depend on the primordial seed, i.e. the adopted initial conditions for magnetic field strength. We study the volume filling fraction of these strong fie…
Faraday rotation studies of distant radio sources can constrain the evolution and the origin of cosmic magnetism. We use data from the LOFAR Two Metre Sky Survey: Data Release 2 (LoTSS DR2) to study the dependence of the Faraday rotation measure (RM) on redshift. By focusing on radio sources that are close in terms of their projection on the sky, but physically unrelated (random pairs), we measure the RM difference, $Δ$RM, between the two sources. Thus, we isolate the extragalactic contribution to $Δ$RM from other contributions. We present a statistical analysis of the resulting sample of rand…
In the present-day Universe, magnetic fields pervade galaxy clusters, with strengths of a few microGauss obtained from Faraday Rotation. Evidence for cluster magnetic fields is also provided by Megaparsec-scale radio emission, namely radio halos and relics. These are commonly found in merging systems and are characterized by a steep radio spectrum. It is widely believed that magneto-hydrodynamical turbulence and shock-waves (re-)accelerate cosmic rays, producing halos and relics. The origin and the amplification of magnetic fields in clusters is not well understood. It has been proposed that t…
