Parkes observations for project P996 semester 2018OCTS_25

We propose to measure the polarisation of ~200 pulsars (~100 this semester) using the Ultra-Wideband Low (UWL) receiver to investigate the structure of the Galactic disk magnetic field in and between distant spiral arms. Previous Parkes pulsar observations have revealed field reversals in nearby arm and interarm regions. We wish to exploit the greater sensitivity of the UWL receiver to extend this to more distant regions, thereby allowing us to distinguish more clearly between different models for the structure of the disk field. This work will have important implications for theories for the generation of Galactic magnetic fields and for other areas, e.g., cosmic-ray physics, which depend on a knowledge of the large-scale Galactic magnetic field for their interpretation.

本研究拟利用超宽频低（Ultra-Wideband Low, UWL）接收机，对约200颗脉冲星（本学期计划观测约100颗）开展偏振测量工作，以探究遥远旋臂内部及旋臂之间的银盘磁场结构。此前基于帕克斯望远镜的脉冲星观测已在邻近旋臂及臂间区域中发现了磁场反转现象。本研究拟借助UWL接收机的更高灵敏度，将此类观测拓展至更遥远的天区，从而能够更清晰地甄别银盘磁场结构的不同理论模型。此项工作对于银河磁场起源理论，以及依赖大尺度银河磁场知识开展阐释的其他研究领域（例如宇宙线物理学）均具有重要学术意义。