Pulsar Rotation Measures and Large-scale Magnetic Field Reversals in the Galactic Disk

TL;DR

This paper analyzes pulsar rotation measures to map the large-scale magnetic field structure in the Galactic disk, revealing reversals between spiral arms and interarm regions, and proposes a model to explain these features.

Contribution

It provides new measurements of pulsar rotation measures and develops a model explaining large-scale magnetic field reversals in the Galactic disk.

Findings

Detection of magnetic field reversals between spiral arms and interarm regions.

A model that reproduces observed rotation measure distributions.

Confirmation of large-scale magnetic field structure in the Galactic disk.

Abstract

We present the measurements of Faraday rotation for 477 pulsars observed by the Parkes 64-m radio telescope and the Green Bank 100-m radio telescope. Using these results along with previous measurements for pulsars and extra-galactic sources, we analyse the structure of the large-scale magnetic field in the Galactic disk. Comparison of rotation measures of pulsars in the disk at different distances as well as with rotation measures of background radio sources beyond the disk reveals large-scale reversals of the field directions between spiral arms and interarm regions. We develop a model for the disk magnetic field, which can reproduce not only these reversals but also the distribution of observed rotation measures of background sources.