Related papers: New Insights on Galactic Dynamos
Mean-field galactic dynamo theory is the leading theory to explain the prevalence of regular magnetic fields in spiral galaxies, but its systematic comparison with observations is still incomplete and fragmentary. Here we compare…
Many spiral galaxies host magnetic fields with energy densities comparable to those of the turbulent and thermal motions of their interstellar gas. However, quantitative comparison between magnetic field properties inferred from observation…
Observations of synchrotron radiation and the Faraday rotation of its polarized component allow us to investigate the magnetic properties of the diffuse interstellar medium in nearby galaxies, on scales down to roughly one hundred parsecs.…
Constraining dynamo theories of magnetic field origin by observation is indispensable but challenging, in part because the basic quantities measured by observers and predicted by modelers are different. We clarify these differences and…
Both observations and modelling of magnetic fields in the diffuse interstellar gas of spiral galaxies are well developed but the theory has been confronted with observations for only a handful of individual galaxies. There is now sufficient…
Pitch angles $p$ of the large-scale magnetic fields $\overline{\bf{\it{B}}}$ of spiral galaxies have previously been inferred from observations to be systematically larger in magnitude than predicted by standard mean-field dynamo theory.…
A review of galactic magnetic fields is given with emphasis on simple analytical solutions of relevant equations and detailed comparison with observations. It is shown that mean-field dynamo theory, in its simplest form, is in a remarkably…
Observational evidence for dynamo action in spiral galaxies is reviewed, and the capabilities of various theories in explaining the basic features of galactic magnetic fields are discussed. Mean-field dynamo models appear to be unique in…
We study the cosmic evolution of the magnetic fields of a large sample of spiral galaxies in a cosmologically representative volume by employing a semi-analytic galaxy formation model and numerical dynamo solver in tandem. We start by…
After a short introduction on how we get information of the magnetic fields from radio observations I discuss the results concerning the magnetic field structure in galaxies: Large-scale regular magnetic field pattern of spiral structure…
Magnetic fields correlated on several kiloparsec scales are seen in spiral galaxies. Their origin could be due to amplification of a small seed field by a turbulent galactic dynamo. We critically review the current status of the galactic…
We seek the conditions for a {\it steady} mean field galactic dynamo. The parameter set is reduced to those appearing in the $\alpha^2$ and $\alpha/\omega$ dynamo, namely velocity amplitudes, and the ratio of sub-scale helicity to…
Observations of dwarf galaxies suggest the presence of large-scale magnetic fields. However the size and slow rotation of these galaxies appear insufficient to support a mean-field dynamo action to excite such fields. Here we suggest a new…
The magnetic fields of spiral galaxies are so strong that they cannot be primordial. Their typical values are over one billion times higher than any value predicted for the early Universe. Explaining this immense growth and incorporating it…
The origin of large-scale magnetic fields, detected in some low-mass (dwarf and irregular) galaxies via polarised synchrotron emission and Faraday rotation, remained unexplained for a long time. We suggest that mean-field dynamo can be…
Spiral galaxies, including the Milky Way, have large-scale magnetic fields with significant energy densities. The dominant theory attributes these magnetic fields to a large-scale dynamo. We review the current status of dynamo theory and…
A variety of observations suggest that magnetic fields are present in all galaxies and galaxy clusters. These fields are characterized by a modest strength (10^{-7}-10^{-5} G) and huge spatial scale (~Mpc). It is generally assumed that…
We review our current understanding of galactic dynamo theory, paying particular attention to numerical simulations both of the mean-field equations and the original three-dimensional equations relevant to describing the magnetic field…
A framework is introduced for coupling the evolution of galactic magnetic fields sustained by the mean-field dynamo with the formation and evolution of galaxies in cold dark matter cosmology. Estimates of the steady-state strength of the…
We study the global consequences in the halos of spiral galaxies of the steady, axially symmetric, mean field dynamo. We use the classical theory but add the possibility of using the velocity field components as parameters in addition to…