A new symmetrical polarization structure near the galactic centre

J. H. Seiradakis*, A. N. Lasenby, F. Yusef-Zadeh, R. Wielebinski, U. Klein

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Filamentary radio structures perpendicular to the plane of the Galaxy and ∼30 pc away from the galactic centre (l = 0.2) have been observed 1. Here we present results showing a new region of polarized emission aligned with this Continuum Arc1,2. The structure of this region has the form of a central component (core) with two jet-like outer lobes. The associated total intensity maps at 4.75 and 10.7 GHz show that the core and lobes lie symmetrically with respect to arched filamentary structures lying both above and below the galactic plane - Only the arches above the plane had been seen previously. The remarkable symmetry of the region suggests the location of a new 'centre of activity' within the galactic centre region at the position of the polarized core; however, total intensity maps do not distinguish this region at all except at low frequencies. A possible model involves outflow from the galactic nucleus to the vicinity of this new centre, explaining the polarization and low-frequency structure in terms of a 'cocoon' of thermal material surrounding the linear filaments seen in higher resolution studies. The regions of polarized emission then correspond to areas in which the cocoon is thinnest or absent.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)697-699
Number of pages3
JournalNature
Volume317
Issue number6039
DOIs
StatePublished - 1985

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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