Linear polarization structures in LOFAR observations of the interstellar medium in the 3C196 field

Understand

This study aims to characterize linear polarization structures in LOFAR observations of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the 3C196 field, one of the primary fields of the LOFAR-Epoch of Reionization key science project.

• We have used the high band antennas (HBA) of LOFAR to image this region and Rotation Measure (RM) synthesis to unravel the distribution of polarized structures in Faraday depth.
• The brightness temperature of the detected Galactic emission is $5-15~{\rm K}$ in polarized intensity and covers the range from -3 to +8 ${\rm rad~m^{-2}}$ in Faraday depth.
• The most interesting morphological feature is a strikingly straight filament at a Faraday depth of $+0.5~{\rm rad~m^{-2}}$ running from north to south, right through the centre of the field and parallel to the Galactic plane.