Speaker
Description
Molecular gas is believed to be the fuel for star formation and nuclear activity in Seyfert galaxies. To identify the role of magnetic fields in funneling molecular gas into the nuclear region, measurements of the magnetic fields embedded in molecular gas are needed. By applying the new velocity gradient technique (VGT) to ALMA and PAWS's CO isotopolog data, we obtain for the first time the detection of CO-associated magnetic fields in several nearby Seyfert galaxies and their unprecedented high-resolution magnetic field maps. The VGT-measured magnetic fields globally agree with the one inferred from existing HAWC+ dust polarization and VLA synchrotron polarization. An overall good alignment between the magnetic fields traced by the VGT-CO measurement and synchrotron polarization supports the correlation between star formation and cosmic ray generation. We find that CO-traced magnetic fields have a more significant radial component in the central regions of most Seyferts in our sample, where efficient molecular gas inflows are expected. In particular, we find the misalignment between the magnetic fields traced by CO and dust polarization within the nuclear ring of NGC 1097, and the former follows the secondary central bar. It reveals different magnetic field configurations in different gas phases and provides an observational diagnostic for the ongoing multi-phase fueling of Seyfert activity.
| Please select a main topic related to your abstract | Astronomical Observations with Light, X-Ray, Gamma-Ray, and Cosmic-Ray |
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