First discovered magnetic field at distant galaxy

Using radio telescopes to observe the universe, a group of California astronomers have for the first time measured the galactic magnetic field that appeared 6.5 billion years ago.

Astronomers believe that the electron field in our Milky Way galaxy and nearby galaxies - controlling the rate of star formation and interstellar gas systems - comes from the 'diametic effect' (effect). power generation) slow. In this process, slow rotating galaxies are thought to have accumulated magnetic fields gradually as they grow within 5 to 10 billion years until current levels.

However, in the October 2 issue of Nature, astronomers say the magnetic field they measured in this distant "primitive galaxy" is 10 times more powerful than our Milky Way.

Arthur Wolfe, professor of physics at UC San Diego's Center for Astrophysics and Space Science, who led the research, said: 'This is a complete surprise. The magnetic field we measured is greater than the average value of the magnetic field measured in our galaxy. '

Astronomers from California University campuses in Berkeley, San Diego and Santa Cruz have used the world's largest radio telescope to serve research work - Robert C. Byrd Green Telescope Bank in Green Bank, West Virginia operated by the National Radio Observatory of the National Science Foundation. The galaxy they probe, DLA-3C286, is located in the North, just above our heads in the spring. Until recently, astronomers' knowledge of magnetic fields outside the Milky Way was very limited, only one galaxy was directly measured. Wolfe said: 'And that magnetic field is not as strong as the magnetic field we observed.'

However, a group of Swiss and American astronomers reported on June 17 the Nature journal that the magnetic fields of 20 distant galaxies were measured indirectly , using light from quasars, showing the magnetic fields of young galaxies, when the universe is about one-third the current age , is roughly equivalent to the magnetic field of modern-day galaxies.

Wolfe said those indirect measurements and the latest direct measurements of his team on the magnetic fields of distant galaxies ' do not bring doubts about today's mainstream electromagnetic field theory. , the average electric field model, suggests that the magnetic field intensity of galaxies in the past is much weaker. '

'Our results create a challenge for the electricity generation model, but do not completely deny that theory. The magnetic field we discovered is in the gas with little or no star formation. Interestingly, the appearance of magnetic fields is an important reason why star formation is so weak in these primordial galaxies.

Wolfe said his team has two plausible explanations for what they observed. 'We think we may be observing the magnetic field in the center of a large galaxy, because the magnetic field at the center of the nearby galaxies is often intense. Or it is also possible that from the field we have discovered a shockwave generated by the collision between two amplified galaxies'.

He added: 'In both cases, our findings indicate that magnetic fields are an important factor in the development of galaxies. In particular, it may be the cause of the slow star formation rate commonly found in the gaseous ancestors of young galaxies in the early universe. '

J. Xavier Prochaska, a member of the research team and professor at UC Santa Cruz, said: 'The challenge is to make similar observations to other galaxies throughout the universe.'

Other researchers include Regina Jorgenson, a graduate student in physics at UCSD; Carl Heiles, professor of astronomy at UC Berkeyley; and Timothy Robishaw, graduate student at Berkeley. The National Science Foundation has funded research.