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Manifestations of the Galactic Center Magnetic Field

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Lessons from the Local Group

Abstract

Several independent lines of evidence reveal that a relatively strong and highly ordered magnetic field is present throughout the Galaxy’s central molecular zone (CMZ). The field within dense clouds of the central molecular zone is predominantly parallel to the Galactic plane, probably as a result of the strong tidal shear in that region. A second magnetic field system is present outside of clouds, manifested primarily by a population of vertical, synchrotron-emitting filamentary features aligned with the field. Whether or not the strong vertical field is uniform throughout the CMZ remains undetermined, but is a key central issue for the overall energetics and the impact of the field on the Galactic center arena. The interactions between the two field systems are considered, as they are likely to drive some of the activity within the CMZ. As a proxy for other gas-rich galaxies in the local group and beyond, the Galactic center region reveals that magnetic fields are likely to be an important diagnostic, if not also a collimator, of the flow of winds and energetic particles out of the nucleus.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    If applicable, this and the considerations in the previous paragraph imply that there is both a lower and an upper limit to the density of clouds within which the field is likely to be toroidal.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

    Mark R. Morris

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  1. Mark R. Morris
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Correspondence to Mark R. Morris .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Kenneth Freeman

  2. IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York, USA

    Bruce Elmegreen

  3. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    David Block

  4. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Matthew Woolway

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Morris, M. (2015). Manifestations of the Galactic Center Magnetic Field. In: Freeman, K., Elmegreen, B., Block, D., Woolway, M. (eds) Lessons from the Local Group. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10614-4_32

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