Faraday tomography of LoTSS-DR2 data: I. Faraday moments in the high-latitude outer Galaxy and revealing Loop III in polarisation

TL;DR

This study uses LOFAR radio data to create a detailed polarised emission map of the high-latitude outer Galaxy, revealing complex magnetic structures and the prominence of Loop III, advancing understanding of Galactic magnetoionic media.

Contribution

It presents the largest low-frequency polarisation mosaic of the northern sky, applying Faraday tomography to analyze Galactic magnetic structures in unprecedented detail.

Findings

Dominance of Loop III in polarised emission

Ubiquity of depolarisation canals

Deviations from simple magnetic field models

Abstract

Observations of synchrotron emission at low radio frequencies reveal a labyrinth of polarised Galactic structures. However, the explanation for the wealth of structures remains uncertain due to the complex interactions between the interstellar medium and the magnetic field. A multi-tracer approach to the analysis of large sky areas is needed. This paper aims to use polarimetric images from the LOFAR Two metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) to produce the biggest mosaic of polarised emission in the northern sky at low radio frequencies (150 MHz) to date. The large area this mosaic covers allows for detailed morphological and statistical studies of polarised structures in the high-latitude outer Galaxy, including the well-known Loop III region. We produced a 3100 square degree Faraday tomographic cube using a rotation measure synthesis tool. We calculated the statistical moments of Faraday spectra and compared them with data sets at higher frequencies (1.4 GHz) and with a map of a rotation measure derived from extragalactic sources. The mosaic is dominated by polarised emission connected to Loop III. Additionally, the mosaic reveals an abundance of other morphological structures, mainly {narrow and extended} depolarisation canals, which are found to be ubiquitous. We find a correlation between the map of an extragalactic rotation measure and the LoTSS first Faraday moment image. The ratio of the two deviates from a simple model of a Burn slab (Burn 1966) along the line of sight, which highlights the high level of complexity in the magnetoionic medium that can be studied at these frequencies.