Abstract
We review current ideas on the origin of galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. We begin by summarizing observations of magnetic fields at cosmological redshifts and on cosmological scales. These observations translate into constraints on the strength and scale magnetic fields must have during the early stages of galaxy formation in order to seed the galactic dynamo. We examine mechanisms for the generation of magnetic fields that operate prior during inflation and during subsequent phase transitions such as electroweak symmetry breaking and the quark–hadron phase transition. The implications of strong primordial magnetic fields for the reionization epoch as well as the first generation of stars are discussed in detail. The exotic, early-Universe mechanisms are contrasted with astrophysical processes that generate fields after recombination. For example, a Biermann-type battery can operate in a proto-galaxy during the early stages of structure formation. Moreover, magnetic fields in either an early generation of stars or active galactic nuclei can be dispersed into the intergalactic medium.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
T. Abel, P. Anninos, Y. Zhang, M.L. Norman, New Astron. 2, 181 (1997)
T. Abel, G.L. Bryan, M.L. Norman, Science 295, 93 (2002)
J. Adamek, R. Durrer, F. Elisa, M. Vonlanthen, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 6, 17 (2011)
J. Adams, U.H. Danielsson, D. Grasso, H. Rubinstein, Phys. Lett. B 388, 253 (1996)
S. Ando, A. Kusenko, arXiv:1005.1924 (2010)
M. Ando, K. Doi, H. Susa, Astrophys. J. 716, 1566 (2010)
P. Anninos, Y. Zhang, T. Abel, M.L. Norman, New Astron. 2, 209 (1997)
P. Arnold, G.D. Moore, Phys. Rev. D 73, 025006 (2006a)
P. Arnold, G.D. Moore, Phys. Rev. D 73, 025013 (2006b)
P. Arnold, Int. J. Mod. Phys. E 16, 2555–2594 (2007)
P. Arnold, G.D. Moore, Phys. Rev. D 76, 045009 (2007)
P. Arnold, P.S. Leang, Phys. Rev. D 76, 065012 (2007)
R.M. Athreya, V.K. Kapahi, P.J. McCarthy, W. van Breugel, Astron. Astrophys. 329, 809 (1998)
R. Banerjee, K. Jedamzik, Phys. Rev. D 70, 123003 (2004)
R. Banerjee, R.E. Pudritz, Astrophys. J. 641, 949 (2006)
R. Banerjee, R.E. Pudritz, L. Holmes, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 355, 248 (2004)
J.D. Barrow, C.G. Tsagas, Phys. Rev. D 77, 107302 (2008)
J.D. Barrow, C.G. Tsagas, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 414, 312 (2011)
J.D. Barrow, P.G. Ferreira, J. Silk, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 3610–3613 (1997)
A. Brandenburg, Phys. Rev. D 54, 1291 (1996)
I. Brown, R. Crittenden, Phys. Rev. D 72, 063002 (2005)
M.L. Bernet, F. Miniati, S. J Lilly, P.P. Kronber, M. Dessauges-Zavadsky, Nature 454, 302 (2008)
S. Bethke, Eur. Phys. J. C 64, 689–703 (2009)
L. Biermann, Z. Naturforsch. A 5, 65 (1950)
J.-P. Blaizot, E. Iancu, Phys. Rep. 359, 355 (2002)
C. Bonvin, C. Caprini, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 5, 022 (2010)
V. Bromm, R.B. Larson, Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 42, 79 (2004)
R.-G. Cai, B. Hu, H.-B. Zhang, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 8, 025 (2010)
C. Caprini, F. Finelli, D. Paoletti, A. Riotto, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 6, 021 (2009)
C.L. Carilli, K.M. Menten, Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 40, 319 (2002)
B. Cheng, A.V. Olinto, Phys. Rev. D 50, 2421 (1994)
M. Christensson, M. Hindmarsh, A. Brandenburg, Phys. Rev. E 64, 056405 (2001)
J.M. Cornwall, Phys. Rev. D 56, 6146 (1997)
R.A. Daly, A. Loeb, Astrophys. J. 355, 416 (1990)
G. Davies, L.M. Widrow, Astrophys. J. 540, 755 (2000)
V. Demozzi, V. Mukhanov, H. Rubinstein, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 8, 25 (2009)
C.D. Dermer et al., Astrophys. J. 733L, 21 (2011)
R. Durrer, L. Hollenstein, R.K. Jain, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 3, 37 (2011)
R. Durrer, New Astron. Rev. 51, 275 (2007)
R. Durrer, C. Caprini, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 11, 10 (2003)
R. Durrer, P.G. Ferreira, T. Kahniashvili, Phys. Rev. D 61, 043001 (2000)
E. Fenu, C. Pitrou, R. Maartens, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 414, 580 (2011). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18554.x
G.B. Field, S.M. Carroll, Phys. Rev. D 62, 103008 (2000)
F. Finelli, F. Paci, D. Paoletti, Phys. Rev. D 78, 023510 (2008)
B.D. Fried, Phys. Fluids 2, 337 (1959)
U. Frisch et al., J. Fluid Mech. 68, 769 (1975)
M. Gasperini, M. Giovannini, G. Veneziano, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 3796 (1995)
M. Giovannini, K.E. Kunze, Phys. Rev. D 77, 063003 (2008)
S.C.O. Glover, D.W. Savin, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 393, 911 (2009)
N.Y. Gnedin, A. Ferrara, E.G. Zweibel, Astrophys. J. 539, 505 (2000)
D. Grasso, H.R. Rubinstein, Phys. Rep. 248, 163 (2001)
P.J. Greenberg, Astrophys. J. 164, 589 (1971)
A.H. Guth, S.-Y. Pi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 49, 1110 (1982)
S.W. Hawking, Phys. Lett. B 115, 295 (1982)
P. Hennebelle, S. Fromang, Astron. Astrophys. 477, 9 (2008)
P. Hennebelle, R. Teyssier, Astron. Astrophys. 477, 25 (2008)
B. Himmetoglu, C.R. Contaldi, M. Peloso, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 111301 (2009a)
B. Himmetoglu, C.R. Contaldi, M. Peloso, Phys. Rev. D 81, 063528 (2009b)
C.J. Hogan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 51, 1488 (1983)
F. Hoyle, in Proceedings of the Symposium on Motion of Gaseous Masses of Cosmical Dimensions, ed. by J.M. Burgers, H.C. van de Hulst (Central Air Documents Office, Dayton, 1949), p. 195
F. Hoyle, Nature 223, 936 (1969)
K. Ichiki, K. Takahashi, H. Ohno, H. Hanayama, N. Sugiyama, Science 311, 827 (2006)
K. Ichiki, K. Takahashi, N. Sugiyama, H. Hanayama, H. Ohno, astro-ph/0701329v1 (2006)
J.D. Jackson, Classical Electrodynamics (Wiley, New York, 1975)
K. Jedamzik, V. Katalinić, A.V. Olinto, Phys. Rev. D 57, 3264 (1998)
K. Jedamzik, V. Katalinić, A.V. Olinto, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 700 (2000)
T. Kahniashvili, B. Ratra, Phys. Rev. 71, 103006 (2005)
A.J. Keane, R.K. Barrett, Class. Quantum Gravity 17, 201 (2000)
K.-T. Kim, P.P. Kronber, G. Giovannini, T. Vernturi, Nature 341, 720 (1989)
E.-J. Kim, A.V. Olinto, R. Rosner, Astrophys. J. 468, 28 (1996)
E.W. Kolb, M.S. Turner, The Early Universe, Frontiers in Physics (Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1990)
E. Komatsu, K.M. Smith, J. Dunkley, C.L. Bennett, B. Gold, G. Hinshaw, N. Jarosik, D. Larson, M.R. Nolta, L. Page, D.N. Spergel, M. Halpern, R.S. Hill, A. Kogut, M. Limon, S.S. Meyer, N. Odegard, G.S. Tucker, J.L. Weiland, E. Wollack, E.L. Wright, arXiv:1001.4538 (2010)
A. Kosowsky, A. Loeb, Astrophys. J. 469, 1 (1996)
P.P. Kronberg, Rep. Prog. Phys. 57, 325 (1994)
P.P. Kronberg, Astrophys. J. 676, 70 (2008)
P.P. Kronberg, J.P. Perry, E.L.H. Zukowski, Astrophys. J. 387, 528 (1992)
R.M. Kulsrud, E.G. Zweibel, Rep. Prog. Phys. 71, 046901 (2008)
R.M. Kulsrud, R. Cen, J.P. Ostriker, D. Ryu, Astrophys. J. 480, 481 (1997)
M. Langer, J.-L. Puget, N. Aghanim, Phys. Rev. D 67, 3505 (2003)
R.B. Larson, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 145, 271 (1969)
A. Lazarian, Astron. Astrophys. 264, 326 (1992)
A. Lewis, Phys. Rev. D 70, 043011 (2004)
D.H. Lyth, A. Woszczyna, Phys. Rev. D 52, 3338 (1995)
M.N. Machida, K. Omukai, T. Matsumoto, S. Inutsuka, Astrophys. J. Lett. 647, L1 (2006)
A. Mack, T. Kahniashvili, A. Kosowsky, Phys. Rev. D 65, 123004 (2002)
H. Maki, S. Hajime, Astrophys. J. 609, 467 (2004)
J. Martin, J. Yokoyama, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 1, 25 (2008)
St. Mrówczyński, Phys. Lett. B 214, 587 (1988)
St. Mrówczyński, Phys. Lett. B 314, 118 (1993)
A. Neronov, I. Vovk, Science 328, 73 (2010)
J.A. Peacock, Cosmological Physics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999)
P.J.E. Peebles, Astrophys. J. 155, 393 (1969)
P.J.E. Peebles, Principles of Physical Cosmology. Princeton Series in Physics (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1993)
M.V. Penston, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 144, 425 (1969)
C. Pinto, D. Galli, Astron. Astrophys. 484, 17 (2008)
C. Pinto, D. Galli, F. Bacciotti, Astron. Astrophys. 484, 1 (2008)
Yu.E. Pokrovsky, A.V. Selikhov, Pis’ma Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fis. 47, 11 (1988) [English Translation JETPL 47, 12 (1988)]
R.E. Pudritz, J. Silk, Astrophys. J. 342, 650 (1989)
J.A. Quashnock, A. Loeb, D. Spergel, Astrophys. J. Lett. 344, L49 (1989)
B. Ratra, Astrophys. J. 391, L1 (1992)
A. Rebhan, M. Strickland, M. Attems, Phys. Rev. D 78, 045023 (2008)
M.J. Rees, Q. J. R. Astron. Soc. 28, 197 (1987)
M.J. Rees, in Cosmical Magnetism, ed. by D. Lynden-Bell (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1994), p. 155
L.F.S. Rodrigues, R.S. de Souza, R. Opher, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 406, 482 (2010)
P. Romatschke, A. Rebhan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 252301 (2006)
B. Schenke, A. Dumitru, Y. Nara, M. Strickland, J. Phys. G 35, 104101 (2008)
D.R.G. Schleicher, D. Galli, F. Palla, M. Camenzind, R.S. Klessen, M. Bartelmann, S.C.O. Glover, Astron. Astrophys. 490, 521 (2008)
D.R.G. Schleicher, R. Banerjee, R.S. Klessen, Astrophys. J. 692, 236 (2009a)
D.R.G. Schleicher, D. Galli, S.C.O. Glover, R. Banerjee, F. Palla, R. Schneider, R.S. Klessen, Astrophys. J. 703, 1096 (2009b)
D.R.G. Schleicher, Astron. Astrophys. arXiv:1008.3481 (2010)
S. Seager, D.D. Sasselov, D. Scott, Astrophys. J. Lett. 523, L1 (1999)
T.R. Seshadri, K. Subramanian, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 101301 (2001)
T.R. Seshadri, K. Subramanian, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 081303 (2009)
S.K. Sethi, K. Subramanian, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 356, 778 (2005)
S.K. Sethi, Z. Haiman, K. Pandey, arXiv:1005.2942 (2010)
J.R. Shaw, A. Lewis, Phys. Rev. D 81, 043517 (2010)
G. Sigl, A.V. Olinto, K. Jedamski, Phys. Rev. D 55, 4582 (1997)
J. Silk, Astrophys. J. 151, 431 (1968)
J. Silk, M. Langer, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 371, 444 (2006)
D.T. Son, Phys. Rev. D 59, 063008 (1999)
A.A. Starobinskii, Phys. Lett. B 117, 175 (1982)
H. Stefani, Introduction to General Relativity (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990)
M.A. Stenrup, A. Larson, N. Elander, Phys. Rev. A 79, 012713 (2009)
M. Strickland, Braz. J. Phys. 37, 762 (2007a)
M. Strickland, J. Phys. G, Nucl. Part. Phys. 34, S429 (2007b)
K. Subramanian, Astron. Nachr. 327, 333 (2006)
K. Subramanian, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 294, 718 (1998)
K. Subramanian, Astron. Nachr. 331, 110 (2010)
K. Subramanian, J.D. Barrow, Phys. Rev. D 58, 083502 (1998)
K. Subramanian, J.D. Barrow, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 3575 (1998)
K. Subramanian, D. Narasimha, S.M. Chitre, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 271, 15 (1994)
K. Subramanian, T.R. Seshadri, J.D. Barrow, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 344, L31 (2003)
S. Sur, et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 721, L134 (2010)
S.I. Syrovatskii, in Interstellar Gas Dynamics, ed. by H.J. Habbing. IAU Symposium No. 39 (Springer, New York, 1970)
K. Takahashi et al., Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 410, 247 (2011)
J.C. Tan, E.G. Blackman, Astrophys. J. 603, 401 (2004)
H. Tashiro, N. Sugiyama, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 368, 965 (2006a)
H. Tashiro, N. Sugiyama, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 372, 1060 (2006b)
K. Thorne, Astrophys. J. 148, 51 (1967)
C.G. Tsagas, Class. Quantum Gravity 22, 393 (2005)
C.G. Tsagas, A. Kandus, Phys. Rev. D 71, 123506 (2005)
C.G. Tsagas, A. Challinor, R. Maartens, Phys. Rep. 465, 61 (2008)
M.S. Turner, L.M. Widrow, Phys. Rev. D 37, 2743 (1988)
T. Vachaspati, Phys. Lett. B 265, 258 (1991)
E. Weibel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 2, 83 (1959)
S.D.M. White, Astrophys. J. 286, 38 (1984)
L.M. Widrow, Rev. Mod. Phys. 74, 775 (2002)
H. Xu et al., Astrophys. J. Lett. 688, L57 (2008)
A. Yahil, Astrophys. J. 265, 1047 (1983)
D.G. Yamazaki, K. Ichiki, T. Kajino, G.J. Mathews, Phys. Rev. D 77, 043005 (2008)
Ya.B. Zel’dovich, Astron. Astrophys. 5, 84 (1970)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Widrow, L.M., Ryu, D., Schleicher, D.R.G. et al. The First Magnetic Fields. Space Sci Rev 166, 37–70 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-011-9833-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-011-9833-5