Submillimetre observations of the two-component magnetic field in M82

Pattle, Kate, Gear, Walter, Redman, Matt, Smith, Matthew W. L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3532-6970 and Greaves, Jane ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3133-413X 2021. Submillimetre observations of the two-component magnetic field in M82. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 505 (1) , pp. 684-688. 10.1093/mnras/stab1300

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Abstract

We observed the starburst galaxy M82 in 850 µm polarized light with the POL-2 polarimeter on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). We interpret our observed polarization geometry as tracing a two-component magnetic field: a poloidal component aligned with the galactic ‘superwind’, extending to a height ∼350 pc above and below the central bar; and a spiral-arm-aligned, or possibly toroidal, component in the plane of the galaxy, which dominates the 850 µm polarized light distribution at galactocentric radii ≳2 kpc. Comparison of our results with recent High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera Plus (HAWC+) measurements of the field in the dust entrained by the M82 superwind suggests that the superwind breaks out from the central starburst at ∼350 pc above the plane of the galaxy.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Publisher:	Royal Astronomical Society
ISSN:	0035-8711
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	27 July 2021
Date of Acceptance:	5 May 2021
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2024 06:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/142917

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