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| Paper: |
Near-Infrared Polarimetry Toward the Galactic Center |
| Volume: |
449, Astronomical Polarimetry 2008: Science from Small to Large Telescopes |
| Page: |
202 |
| Authors: |
Nishiyama, S.; Tamura, M.; Hatano, H.; Kanai, S.; Kurita, M.; Sato, S.; Nagata, T. |
| Abstract: |
Near-infrared polarimetry of point sources reveals the presence of a
toroidal magnetic field in the central 20′ × 20′ region of our Galaxy.
Comparing the Stokes parameters between high extinction stars and
relatively low extinction ones, we have obtained a polarization
originating from magnetically aligned dust grains at the central region
of our Galaxy of at most 1-2 kpc. The derived direction of the magnetic
field is in good agreement with that obtained from
far-infrared/submillimeter observations, which detect polarized thermal
emission from dust in the molecular clouds at the Galactic center. Our
results show that by subtracting foreground components, near-infrared
polarimetry allows investigation of the magnetic field structure at the
Galactic center. The distribution of the position angles shows a peak
at around 20°, nearly parallel to the direction of the Galactic
plane, suggesting a toroidal magnetic configuration. |
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