Invited Talk abstract details

The Faraday-Rotation Technique
G. Heald, R. Braun, R. Edmonds

Abstract

A comprehensive observational picture of the ISM in galaxies will not be complete without a good understanding of the coincident magnetic fields. The Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) provides a broad range of observational data to probe star formation in a highly varied galaxy sample, but it does not include observations necessary to investigate the magnetic fields. To complement the SINGS survey data, a subsample has recently been observed in the 18- and 22-cm continuum bands using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). The broadband backend of the WSRT enables a full spectropolarimetric analysis of the data using the RM-Synthesis technique, which in turn reveals information about the large-scale magnetic fields in these galaxies. In all, polarized emission has been detected in 2/3 of the WSRT-SINGS subsample galaxies. I will describe the techniques used to derive Faraday rotation measures and magnetic field structures in the survey galaxies. A particular emphasis will be placed on the relevance of this work to observations with future facilities.