Parkes observations for project P996 semester 2018OCTS_17

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.

本研究拟利用超宽带低（Ultra-Wideband Low, UWL）接收机，对约200颗脉冲星（本学期内完成约100颗）的偏振特性开展测量，以探究遥远旋臂内部及旋臂间银盘磁场的结构。此前帕克斯（Parkes）的脉冲星观测研究已在邻近旋臂及臂间区域发现磁场反转现象。本研究拟借助UWL接收机更高的灵敏度，将此类观测拓展至更遥远的区域，从而能够更清晰地甄别银盘磁场结构的不同理论模型。本项工作对银河系磁场起源理论及其他相关领域（如宇宙线物理学）均具有重要意义——这些领域的研究阐释均依赖于对大尺度银河系磁场的认知。