The magnetic field of the Radcliffe wave: Starlight polarization at the nearest approach to the Sun
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2025

Aims. We investigate the geometry of the magnetic field toward the Radcliffe wave, a coherent part of the nearby Local Arm of 3 kpc in length recently discovered via three-dimensional dust mapping. Methods. We used archival stellar polarization in the optical and new measurements in the near-infrared to trace the magnetic field as projected on the plane of the sky. Our new observations cover the portion of the structure that is closest to the Sun, between Galactic longitudes of 122 and 188. Results. The polarization angles of stars immediately behind the Radcliffe wave appear to be aligned with the structure as projected on the plane of the sky. The observed magnetic field configuration is inclined with respect to the Galactic disk at an angle of 18. This departure from a geometry parallel to the plane of the Galaxy is contrary to previous constraints from more distant stars and polarized dust emission. We confirm that the polarization angle of stars at larger distances shows a mean orientation parallel to the Galactic disk. Conclusions. We discuss the implications of the observed morphology of the magnetic field for models of the large-scale Galactic magnetic field, as well as formation scenarios for the Radcliffe wave itself.

ISM: structure

Dust, extinction

ISM: magnetic fields

Techniques: polarimetric

Local insterstellar matter

Författare

Georgia Virginia Panopoulou

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

Catherine Zucker

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Dan Clemens

Boston University

Vincent Pelgrims

Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Juan Diego Soler

Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)

Susan E. Clark

Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

Stanford University

João Alves

Universität Wien

Alyssa Goodman

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Julia Tjus

Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

Astronomy and Astrophysics

0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)

Vol. 694 A97

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2025)

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

DOI

10.1051/0004-6361/202450991

Relaterade dataset

Magnetic field of the Radcliffe Wave : J/A+A/694/A97 [dataset]

URI: https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/694/A97

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2025-03-21