|
The magnetic field is a crucial constituent of the interstellar medium, and accurately understanding its strength and structure in galaxies has significant implications for various areas of galactic astrophysics. Recent advancements in sensitivity and frequency coverage of radio telescopes have provided clearer insights into the magnetic fields of our Milky Way Galaxy and its neighbouring Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). In this seminar, I will share the new magnetic knowledge gained from these advanced radio instruments, using both linear polarisation and high-resolution HI measurements. In the case of the Milky Way, I utilised the Faraday rotation experienced by linearly polarised emission from extragalactic radio sources to find hints of Galactic magnetic structures at <2.5" scales. Meanwhile in the SMC, I find that the filamentary HI structures near its centre are preferentially aligned with the magnetic fields traced by starlight polarisation, suggesting that these HI structures can have the potential of being a new 3D tracer of the SMC’s plane-of-sky magnetic field. I will conclude by highlighting the exciting prospects in magnetism studies offered by on-going southern sky radio survey, such as the POSSUM survey in polarisation and the GASKAP survey in HI. |
|