Development of Polarization Sky Simulator toward Discovering the Intergalactic Medium

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K17614
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Astronomy
• Research Institution: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (2017); Kagoshima University (2015-2016)
• Principal Investigator: Akahori Takuya 国立天文台, 水沢VLBI観測所, 特任研究員 (70455913)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 電波天文学 / 磁場 / 偏波 / 宇宙大規模構造 / SKA計画

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research revealed polarization properties of various astronomical objects toward the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), and developed Faraday tomography which is thought to be a key technology for future radio polarimetry. We achieved formulation of depolarization in galaxies, and revealed that Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) can be ideal extragalactic polarized sources for the study of the intergalactic magnetic field. We observed galaxy clusters and a local nebula. We applied Faraday tomography to the data, and achieved to distinguish some components along the lines-of-sight. We clarified how to apply Faraday tomography to the study of external galaxies, and showed the capability of sparse-modeling-based Faraday tomography for the study of the intergalactic magnetic field.

Free Research Field

天文学