Submillimetre observations of the two-component magnetic field in M82
Kate Pattle, W. K. Gear, M. P. Redman, M. W. L. Smith, J. S. Greaves
Abstract
ABSTRACT We observed the starburst galaxy M82 in 850 µm polarized light with the POL-2 polarimeter on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). We interpret our observed polarization geometry as tracing a two-component magnetic field: a poloidal component aligned with the galactic ‘superwind’, extending to a height ∼350 pc above and below the central bar; and a spiral-arm-aligned, or possibly toroidal, component in the plane of the galaxy, which dominates the 850 µm polarized light distribution at galactocentric radii ≳2 kpc. Comparison of our results with recent High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera Plus (HAWC+) measurements of the field in the dust entrained by the M82 superwind suggests that the superwind breaks out from the central starburst at ∼350 pc above the plane of the galaxy.