Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Magnetic fields in elliptical galaxies: An observational probe of the fluctuation dynamo action

Lookup NU author(s): Amit Seta, Dr Luiz Felippe RodriguesORCiD, Dr Christopher Hales

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

© 2021. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Fluctuation dynamos are thought to play an essential role in the evolution of magnetized galaxies, saturating within ∼0.01 Gyr and thus potentially acting as seeds for large-scale mean-field dynamos. However, unambiguous observational confirmation of the fluctuation dynamo action in a galactic environment is still missing. This is because, in spiral galaxies, it is difficult to differentiate between small-scale magnetic fields generated by a fluctuation dynamo and those due to the tangling of the large-scale field. We propose that observations of magnetic fields in elliptical galaxies would directly probe the fluctuation dynamo action. This is motivated by the fact that in ellipticals, due to their lack of significant rotation, the conventional large-scale dynamo is absent and the fluctuation dynamo is responsible for controlling the strength and structure of the magnetic field. By considering turbulence injected by Type Ia supernova explosions and possible magnetic field amplification by cooling flows, we estimate expected magnetic field strengths of 0.2-1 mG in the centers of quiescent elliptical galaxies. We use a semianalytic model of galaxy formation to estimate the distribution and redshift evolution of field strengths, tentatively finding a decrease in magnetic field strength with decreasing redshift. We analyze a historical sample of radio sources that exhibit the Laing-Garrington effect (radio polarization asymmetry in jets) and infer magnetic field strengths between 0.14 and 1.33 mG for a uniform thermal electron density and between 1.36 and 6.21 mG for the thermal electron density following the King profile. We examine observational techniques for measuring the magnetic field saturation state in elliptical galaxies, focusing on Faraday rotation measure grids, the Laing-Garrington effect, synchrotron emission, and gravitational lensing, and finding appealing prospects for future empirical analysis.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Seta A, Rodrigues LFS, Federrath C, Hales CA

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Astrophysical Journal

Year: 2021

Volume: 907

Online publication date: 19/01/2021

Acceptance date: 03/12/2020

ISSN (print): 0004-637X

ISSN (electronic): 1538-4357

Publisher: IOP Publishing Ltd

URL: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/abd2bb

DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abd2bb


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share