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Faraday rotation and the turbulent structure of the Galaxy

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Abstract

We extend Jokipii and Lerche's analysis of the turbulent structure of our Galaxy by means of a study of the rotation measure of extragalactic sources. Like them we use a simple, statistically homogeneous and isotropic disc model of the Galaxy and assume that the magnetic field has both an average component and a fluctuating one. We assume that the electron density is proportional to some power of the magnetic field (N eαB n with 1≤n≤2). Using the rotation measure data on 242 extragalactic sources given by Vallée and Kronberg we consider both an exponential and a Gaussian two-point correlation function for the (Gaussian) fluctuating component of the magnetic field with a correlation lengthL. We find reasonable agreement between theory and observations for an average magnetic field of about 3 μG, a fluctuating magnetic field component with an amplitude of about 2.6μG, an average electron density of about 0.03 cm−3, a fluctuating density component of about 0.05 cm−3, and a correlation length of about 300 pc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Theoretical Physics, Oxford, England

    J. C. Carvalho & D. Ter Haar

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  1. J. C. Carvalho
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  2. D. Ter Haar
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Carvalho, J.C., Ter Haar, D. Faraday rotation and the turbulent structure of the Galaxy. Astrophys Space Sci 51, 385–393 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00644160

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00644160

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