A team of astronomers, including an astronomer from the University of Tokyo, has created the first map of magnetic field structures in the spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. Previous studies of galactic magnetic fields have provided only a very general picture, but a new study shows that magnetic fields in the spiral arms of our galaxy deviate significantly from this general picture and deviate significantly from the galactic average.

The results were published on: Astrophysical Journalshow that magnetic fields strongly influence star-forming regions, implying that they played a role in the creation of our own solar system.

It may surprise some that magnetic fields can exist on scales larger than the planet. Most of our daily experiences with magnetic fields involve either sticking something on the refrigerator or using a compass pointing north. Secondly, it testifies to the existence of magnetic fields created by our planet.

Our Sun also produces a very large magnetic field, which can affect events such as solar flares. But the magnetic fields spanning the galaxy are almost too vast to understand, and yet they are likely to play a role in the formation of stars and planets.

“So far, all observations of magnetic fields in the Milky Way have led to a very limited pattern that is the same everywhere and mostly matches the shape of the galaxy’s disk,” said Associate Professor Yasuo Doi of the Department of Earth Sciences. Astronomy.

“Thanks to telescopes at Hiroshima University that can measure polarized light to help us identify magnetic signatures, and the Gaia satellite launched by the European Space Agency in 2013 that specializes in measuring distances to stars, we can build a better satellite.” Model with finer details in three dimensions. “We focused on one particular region, the Sagittarius arm of our spiral galaxy (we’re in the nearby Orion arm), and found that the dominant magnetic field there moved significantly away from the galactic plane.”

Previous models and observations could only imagine a smooth and largely uniform magnetic field in our galaxy; The new data shows that although the magnetic field lines in the spiral arms are roughly aligned with the galaxy as a whole, at small scales the lines actually extend over a range of distances due to various astrophysical events such as supernovae and stellar winds.

Galactic magnetic fields are also incredibly weak; It is approximately 100,000 times weaker than the Earth’s own magnetic field. Even so, over long periods of time the gas and dust in interstellar space are accelerated by these fields; This explains the existence of some stellar nurseries (star formation regions) that cannot be explained by gravity alone. The discovery means that further mapping of magnetic fields in our galaxy could help better explain the nature and evolution of the Milky Way and other galaxies.

“I am personally interested in the fundamental process of star formation, which plays a key role in the creation of life, including us, and I aim to fully understand this phenomenon over time,” Doy said. “We aim to continue our observations and create better models of galactic magnetic field structures. This study aims to provide observational information about the accumulation and historical development of gas that fuels active star formation in our galaxy.”