NRAO/Socorro Colloquium Series

Russ Taylor

University of Calgary


Toward the sub-microJy Polarization Sky


Observations of polarization at radio wavelengths is one of our most powerful probes of the cosmic magnetic fields. Polarization imaging of the deep polarized sky has the potential to trace the evolution of cosmic magnetism over time and to explore magnetic properties of significant fractions of populations of radio sources. The new capabilities of the EVLA will offer us our first opportunity to probe the sub-microJy polarized sky, well in advance of deep and wide polarization surveys currently being planned for SKA precursor telescopes. Results of recent high-sensitivity, spectro-polarimetric imaging of the sky at 1.4 GHz, and analysis of the NVSS data is showing that the faint polarized sky is relatively more highly polarized than expected based on extrapolation of the polarization properites of the strong radio source population. At the same time observations and modelling of integrated polarized radio emission from local disk galaxies are revealing significant integrated polarized signals. These result indicate that disk galaxies will be a significant fraction of the sub-microJy polarized source population, and statiscial analysis of integrated polarized emisssion will allow us to measure global magnetic field properties of disk galaxies to high redshifts.






****NOTE SPECIAL DAY***

October 4, 2010
11:00 am

Array Operations Center Auditorium

All NRAO employees are invited to attend via video, available in Charlottesville Room 230, Green Bank Room 137 and Tucson N525.

Local Host: Chris Carilli