Working Groups

Milky Way

We study the magnetic field in our own Galaxy, the Milky Way, by using pulsars and looking at diffuse polarized emission. Understanding the structure of the local magnetic field folds into other science work as the Milky Way provides a foreground along essentially all lines of sight.

Nearby Galaxies

We study magnetic fields in our neighbour galaxies and have selected a sample of galaxies of different morphological types, inclinations, masses and star-formation rates. This also helps us to better understand the magnetic field of our own Galaxy, which cannot be seen from the outside. We investigate how magnetic fields, along with star formation, gravity, interactions between galaxies and other dynamical processes, play a role in the evolution of galaxies – and vice versa, how cosmic evolution shapes galactic magnetic fields.

Radio Galaxies

These gigantic radio sources are powered by monstrous supermassive black holes (SMBH). The jets from these SMBH pump energy back into the local environment, but the sheer extent of the radio emission means that they extend way beyond the host galaxy. Studying the magnetic fields in these objects allows us to learn about the magnetic field external to galaxies.

IGM and LSS

Studying magnetic fields on these largest of scales allows us to probe the origins of cosmic magnetism in the Universe. However, the technical challenges of detecting magnetic fields in these very faint, very sparse regions mean this is not an easy task - one that only the next generation of radio telescopes have the capability of tackling.

RM Grid Task Force

The goal of the MKSP RM Grid Task force is to use the combined expertise and resources of the MKSP Working Groups to produce a catalog of Faraday rotation measures of discrete radio sources from the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) data. This catalog will then be used by the various MKSP working groups to address the particular science goals of the individual working groups.

Deep Fields

The Deep Fields group aims to deliver the most sensitive low-frequency polarization survey of two well-studied fields: GOODS-North and ELAIS-N1. These observations will be complemented by data at other radio frequencies and in other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum already available in the literature, to address a number of scientific aspects covering different environments, from our Galaxy, to other galaxies, up to the cosmic web.