Understanding the geometry of astrophysical magnetic fields

Abstract

Faraday rotation measurements have provided an invaluable technique for probing the properties of astrophysical magnetized plasmas. Unfortunately, typical observations provide information only about the density-weighted average of the magnetic field component parallel to the line of sight. As a result, the magnetic field geometry along the line of sight, and in many cases even the location of the rotating material, is poorly constrained. Frequently, interpretations of Faraday rotation observations are dependent upon underlying models of the magnetic field being probed (e.g., uniform, turbulent, equipartition). However, we show that at sufficiently low frequencies, specifically below roughly 13(RM/1 radm-2)1/4(B/1G) 1/2 MHz, the character of Faraday rotation changes, entering what we term the "super-adiabatic regime" in which the rotation measure (RM) is proportional to the integrated absolute value of the line-of-sight component of the field. As a consequence, comparing RMs at high frequencies with those in this new regime provides direct information about the geometry of the magnetic field along the line of sight. Furthermore, the frequency defining the transition to this new regime, ?SA, depends directly upon the local electron density and magnetic field strength where the magnetic field is perpendicular to the line of sight, allowing the unambiguous distinction between Faraday rotation within and in front of the emission region. Typical values of ?SA range from 10 kHz (below the ionospheric cutoff, but above the heliospheric cutoff) to 10 GHz, depending upon the details of the Faraday rotating environment. In particular, for resolved active galactic nuclei, including the black holes at the center of the Milky Way (Sgr A*) and M81, ?SA ranges from roughly 10MHz to 10 GHz and thus can be probed via existing and up-coming ground-based radio observatories. © 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.