Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published June 2014 | Published
Book Section - Chapter Open

SKA studies of in situ synchrotron radiation from molecular clouds

Abstract

Observations of the properties of dense molecular clouds are critical in understanding the process of star-formation. One of the most important, but least understood, is the role of the magnetic fields. We discuss the possibility of using high-resolution, high-sensitivity radio observations with the SKA to measure for the first time the in-situ synchrotron radiation from these molecular clouds. If the cosmic-ray (CR) particles penetrate clouds as expected, then we can measure the B-field strength directly using radio data. So far, this signature has never been detected from the collapsing clouds themselves and would be a unique probe of the magnetic field. Dense cores are typically ∼ 0.05 pc in size, corresponding to ∼arcsec at ∼kpc distances, and flux density estimates are ∼ mJy at 1 GHz. The SKA should be able to readily detect directly, for the first time, along lines-of-sight that are not contaminated by thermal emission or complex foreground/background synchrotron emission. Polarised synchrotron may also be detectable providing additional information about the regular/turbulent fields.

Additional Information

Copyright owned by the author(s) under the term of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. CD acknowledges support from an ERC Starting (Consolidator) Grant (no. 307209).

Attached Files

Published - AASKA14_102.pdf

Files

AASKA14_102.pdf
Files (221.3 kB)
Name Size Download all
md5:1c523b45cf0228165a0aae6e059561c7
221.3 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
January 14, 2024