Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Marta Alves

Marta Alves Colloquium: Mapping the structure of the Galactic magnetic field with Planck

Planck has mapped the dust polarized emission at millimetre wavelengths over the whole sky. With the sensitivity and resolution of the Planck observations we are able to image the dust polarization from the diffuse interstellar medium to molecular clouds. This enables, for the first time, a thorough study of the interplay between the magnetic field, interstellar matter and turbulence, which remains an unanswered question in the context of star formation processes. Planck observations deliver important information on the polarization properties of dust that need to be considered when characterizing the magnetic field structure. I will present the new polarized sky revealed by Planck and the scientific questions we are now exploring.