Related papers: A Review of Maser Polarization and Magnetic Fields
Through polarization observations water masers are excellent probes of magnetic fields in the maser region. Magnetic field strengths, such as those in the water masers regions of the envelopes of late-type stars and star-forming regions,…
In this paper we investigate the polarization property of the radiation amplified by astronomical masers in the presence of a strong magnetic field. Our model explicitly takes into account the broadband nature of the radiation field and the…
Magnetic fields are observed everywhere in the universe. In this review, we concentrate on the observational aspects of the magnetic fields of Galactic and extragalactic objects. Readers can follow the milestones in the observations of…
Observational evidence for strong magnetic fields throughout the envelopes of evolved stars is increasing. Many of the instruments coming on line in the near-future will be able to make further contributions to this field. Specifically,…
The linear polarization that is observed, together with likely changes in the orientation of the magnetic field along the line of sight and hence of the optical axes of the medium, can lead to the circular polarization that is observed in…
Basic aspects of the relationship between the magnetic field and polarized maser radiation are described with the emphasis on interpreting the observed spectra. Special attention is given to three issues--the limitations on the…
Although indirect evidence for the presence of magnetic fields in high-mass stars is regularly reported in the literature, the detection of these fields remains an extremely challenging observational problem. We review the recent…
Extremely strong magnetic fields change the vacuum index of refraction. This induces a lensing effect that is not unlike the lensing phenomenon in strong gravitational fields. The main difference between the two is the polarization…
The polarization of light is a critically under-utilized, rich source of information in astronomy. For stars in particular, surface magnetism polarization that can be detected and measured with spectro-polarimetry. Many questions about…
Magnetic fields play an important role in producing and modifying the photospheric chemical peculiarities of intermediate-mass main sequence stars. This article discusses the basic theory and methods of measurement used to detect and…
(abridged) The role of magnetic field in the shaping of Planetary Nebulae (PNe), either directly or indirectly after being enhanced by binary interaction, has long been a topic of debate. Large scale magnetic fields around pre-PNe have been…
We review the recent discoveries of magnetic fields in different types of massive stars and briefly discuss strategies for spectropolarimetric observations to be carried out in the future.
Extremely strong magnetic fields change the vacuum index of refraction. Although this polarization dependent effect is small for typical neutron stars, it is large enough to decouple the polarization states of photons traveling within the…
Neutron stars are natural physical laboratories allowing us to study a plethora of phenomena in extreme conditions. In particular, these compact objects can have very strong magnetic fields with non-trivial origin and evolution. In many…
The study of magnetars is of particular relevance since these objects are the only laboratories where the physics in ultra-strong magnetic fields can be directly tested. Until now, spectroscopic and timing measurements at X-ray energies in…
The origin of magnetic fields in the Universe is an open problem in astrophysics and fundamental physics. Polarization observations with the forthcoming large radio telescopes will open a new era in the observation of magnetic fields and…
We report on the status of our spectropolarimetric observations of massive stars. During the last years, we have discovered magnetic fields in many objects of the upper main sequence, including Be stars, beta Cephei and Slowly Pulsating B…
Substantial progress has been achieved over the last decade in studies of stellar magnetism due to the improvement of magnetic field measurement methods. We review recent results on the magnetic field characteristics of early B- and O-type…
Interstellar masers are unique probes of the environments in which they arise. In studies of high-mass star formation their primary function has been as signposts of these regions and they have been used as probes of the kinematics and…
Magnetic fields have been observed on all scales in our Galaxy, from AU to kpc. With pulsar dispersion measures and rotation measures, we can directly measure the magnetic fields in a very large region of the Galactic disk. The results show…