Combining Faraday Tomography and Wavelet Analysis

oleh: Dmitry Sokoloff, Rainer Beck, Anton Chupin, Peter Frick, George Heald, Rodion Stepanov

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2018-11-01

Deskripsi

We present a concept for using long-wavelength broadband radio continuum observations of spiral galaxies to isolate magnetic structures that were only previously accessible from short-wavelength observations. The approach is based on combining the RM Synthesis technique with the 2D continuous wavelet transform. Wavelet analysis helps to isolate and recognize small-scale structures which are produced by Faraday dispersion. We find that these structures can trace galactic magnetic arms as illustrated by the case of the galaxy NGC 6946 observed at <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <mi>&#955;</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>17</mn> <mrow> <mo>&#8722;</mo> </mrow> <mn>22</mn> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> cm. We support this interpretation through the analysis of a synthetic observation obtained using a realistic model of a galactic magnetic field.