Magnetic Fields in the Milky Way

TL;DR

This review summarizes recent observational findings on the magnetic field structure and strength in the Milky Way's disk and halo, highlighting current knowledge, open questions, and future observational prospects.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of Galactic magnetic fields, clarifies terminology, and discusses recent developments and future observational directions.

Findings

Progress in mapping large-scale magnetic field configurations

Improved estimates of magnetic field strengths in the interstellar medium

Identification of unresolved questions and future observational plans

Abstract

This chapter presents a review of observational studies to determine the magnetic field in the Milky Way, both in the disk and in the halo, focused on recent developments and on magnetic fields in the diffuse interstellar medium. I discuss some terminology which is confusingly or inconsistently used and try to summarize current status of our knowledge on magnetic field configurations and strengths in the Milky Way. Although many open questions still exist, more and more conclusions can be drawn on the large-scale and small-scale components of the Galactic magnetic field. The chapter is concluded with a brief outlook to observational projects in the near future.