Low-Mach-number turbulence in interstellar gas revealed by radio polarization gradients

B. M. Gaensler (), M. Haverkorn, B. Burkhart, K. J. Newton–McGee, R. D. Ekers, A. Lazarian, N. M. McClure–Griffiths, T. Robishaw, J. M. Dickey and A. J. Green
Additional contact information
B. M. Gaensler: Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney
M. Haverkorn: ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4
B. Burkhart: University of Wisconsin, Madison
K. J. Newton–McGee: Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney
R. D. Ekers: Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, PO Box 76, Epping
A. Lazarian: University of Wisconsin, Madison
N. M. McClure–Griffiths: Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, PO Box 76, Epping
T. Robishaw: Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney
J. M. Dickey: School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 37
A. J. Green: Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney

Nature, 2011, vol. 478, issue 7368, 214-217

Abstract: Turbulence in the Milky Way Turbulence is a well-studied phenomenon in disciplines ranging from meteorology to cardiology, but astrophysical turbulence — acting over physical scales spanning 1015 orders of magnitude — stretches current theories to their limits. Until now, insight into interstellar turbulence has been limited by our inability to image the small-scale structure associated with turbulent motions. This paper presents the first direct images of turbulence in interstellar gas. Using radio-continuum images of a patch of the Galactic plane, observed with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, Gaensler et al. report that the gradient of the Stokes vector (Q,U) provides an image of magnetized turbulence in diffuse ionized gas, seen as a complex filamentary web of discontinuities in gas density and magnetic field. The turbulence in the warm ionized medium has a relatively low sonic Mach number of approximately Mach 2.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10446

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