Practical Modeling of Large-Scale Galactic Magnetic Fields: Status and Prospects

Abstract

This is a review of the status of efforts to model the large-scale Galactic magnetic field (GMF). Though important for a variety of astrophysical processes, the GMF remains poorly understood despite some interesting new tracers being used in the field. Though we still have too many models that might fit the data, this is not to say that the field has not developed in the last few years. In particular, surveys of polarized dust have given us a new observable that is complementary to the more traditional radio tracers, and a variety of other new tracers and related measurements are becoming available to improve current modeling. This paper reviews: the tracers available; the models that have been studied; what has been learned so far; what the caveats and outstanding issues are; and one opinion of where the most promising future avenues of exploration lie.

Keywords

• magnetic field
• interstellar medium
• polarization
• synchrotron emission
• thermal dust emission
• Faraday rotation measure
• cosmic rays