The Galactic Centre region

We present a study of the vertical magnetic field of the Milky Way towards the Galactic poles, determined from observations of Faraday rotation toward more than 1000 polarized extragalactic radio sources at Galactic latitudes |b| > 77 degs, using the Westerbork Radio Synthesis Telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We find median rotation measures (RMs) of 0.0 +/- 0.5 rad/m^2 and +6.3 +/- 0.7 rad/m^2 toward the north and south Galactic poles, respectively, demon...

We have determined 194 Faraday rotation measures (RMs) of polarized extragalactic radio sources using new, multi-channel polarization observations at frequencies around 1.4 GHz from the Very Large Array (VLA) in the Galactic plane at $17^\circ \leq l \leq 63^\circ$ and $205^\circ \leq l \leq 253^\circ$. This catalog fills in gaps in the RM coverage of the Galactic plane between the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey and Southern Galactic Plane Survey. Using this catalog we have t...

We have observed the linear polarization of 450 micron continuum emission from the Galactic center, using a new polarimetric detector system that is operated on a 2 m telescope at the South Pole. The resulting polarization map extends ~ 170 pc along the Galactic plane and ~ 30 pc in Galactic latitude, and thus covers a significant fraction of the central molecular zone. Our map shows that this region is permeated by large-scale toroidal magnetic fields. We consider our result...

We present new Faraday rotation measures (RMs) for 148 extragalactic radio sources behind the southern Galactic plane (253o < l < 356o, |b| < 1.5o), and use these data in combination with published data to probe the large-scale structure of the Milky Way's magnetic field. We show that the magnitudes of these RMs oscillate with longitude in a manner that correlates with the locations of the Galactic spiral arms. The observed pattern in RMs requries the presence of at least one...

Polarised radio emission from PSR J1745-2900 has already been used to investigate the strength of the magnetic field in the Galactic Centre, close to Sagittarius A*. Here we report how persistent radio emission from this magnetar, for over four years since its discovery, has revealed large changes in the observed Faraday rotation measure, by up to 3500 rad m$^{-2}$ (a five per cent fractional change). From simultaneous analysis of the dispersion measure, we determine that the...

We present the first spectropolarimetric radio observations that apply Rotation Measure (RM) Synthesis to interferometric data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at 610 MHz. Spectropolarimetry requires measurement of a large number of instrumental systematics so that their effects can be calibrated - a technical problem that is currently being faced by the upcoming SKA pathfinders. Our fully-calibrated data allow for the peak Faraday depth and polarisation fracti...

The central regions of galaxies harbor some of the most extreme physical phenomena, including dense stellar clusters, non-circular motions of molecular clouds and strong and pervasive magnetic field structures. In particular, radio observations have shown that the central few hundred parsecs of our Galaxy has a striking magnetic field configuration. It is not yet clear whether these magnetic structures are unique to our Milky Way or a common feature of all similar galaxies. T...

We seek to obtain a picture of the interstellar magnetic field in the Galactic center region that is as clear and complete as possible. To that end, we review the observational knowledge that has built up over the past 25 years on interstellar magnetic fields within ~ 200 pc of the Galactic center. We then critically discuss the various theoretical interpretations and scenarios proposed to explain the existing observations. We also study the possible connections with the ge...

We present 44 and 226 GHz observations of the Galactic center within 20$"$ of Sgr A*. Millimeter continuum emission at 226 GHz is detected from eight stars that have previously been identified at near-IR and radio wavelengths. We also detect a 5.8 mJy source at 226 GHz coincident with the magnetar SGR~J1745-29 located 2.39$"$ SE of Sgr A* and identify a new 2.5$"\times1.5"$ halo of mm emission centered on Sgr A*. The X-ray emission from this halo has been detected previously ...

The Radio Arc is one of the brightest systems of non-thermal filaments (NTFs) in the Galactic Center, located near several prominent HII regions (Sickle and Pistol) and the Quintuplet stellar cluster. We present observations of the Arc NTFs using the S-, C-, and X-bands of the Very Large Array interferometer. Our images of total intensity reveal large-scale helical features that surround the Arc NTFs, very narrow sub-filamentation, and compact sources along the NTFs. The dist...