Observing in six frequency bands from 27 to 280 GHz over a large sky area, the Simons Observatory (SO) is poised to address many questions in Galactic astrophysics in addition to its principal cosmological goals. In this work, we provide quantitative forecasts on astrophysical parameters of interest for a range of Galactic science cases. We find that SO can: constrain the frequency spectrum of polarized dust emission at a level of Delta beta(d) less than or similar to 0.01 and thus test models of dust composition that predict that beta(d) in polarization differs from that measured in total intensity; measure the correlation coefficient between polarized dust and synchrotron emission with a factor of two greater precision than current constraints; exclude the nonexistence of exo-Oort clouds at roughly 2.9 sigma if the true fraction is similar to the detection rate of giant planets; map more than 850 molecular clouds with at least 50 independent polarization measurements at 1 pc resolution; detect or place upper limits on the polarization fractions of CO(2-1) emission and anomalous microwave emission at the 0.1% level in select regions; and measure the correlation coefficient between optical starlight polarization and microwave polarized dust emission in 1 degrees patches for all lines of sight with N-H greater than or similar to 2 x 10(20) cm(-2). The goals and forecasts outlined here provide a roadmap for other microwave polarization experiments to expand their scientific scope via Milky Way astrophysics.

Hensley, B., Clark, S., Fanfani, V., Krachmalnicoff, N., Fabbian, G., Poletti, D., et al. (2022). The Simons Observatory: Galactic Science Goals and Forecasts. THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 929(2) [10.3847/1538-4357/ac5e36].

The Simons Observatory: Galactic Science Goals and Forecasts

Valentina Fanfani;Davide Poletti;Gabriele Coppi;Federico Nati;
2022

Abstract

Observing in six frequency bands from 27 to 280 GHz over a large sky area, the Simons Observatory (SO) is poised to address many questions in Galactic astrophysics in addition to its principal cosmological goals. In this work, we provide quantitative forecasts on astrophysical parameters of interest for a range of Galactic science cases. We find that SO can: constrain the frequency spectrum of polarized dust emission at a level of Delta beta(d) less than or similar to 0.01 and thus test models of dust composition that predict that beta(d) in polarization differs from that measured in total intensity; measure the correlation coefficient between polarized dust and synchrotron emission with a factor of two greater precision than current constraints; exclude the nonexistence of exo-Oort clouds at roughly 2.9 sigma if the true fraction is similar to the detection rate of giant planets; map more than 850 molecular clouds with at least 50 independent polarization measurements at 1 pc resolution; detect or place upper limits on the polarization fractions of CO(2-1) emission and anomalous microwave emission at the 0.1% level in select regions; and measure the correlation coefficient between optical starlight polarization and microwave polarized dust emission in 1 degrees patches for all lines of sight with N-H greater than or similar to 2 x 10(20) cm(-2). The goals and forecasts outlined here provide a roadmap for other microwave polarization experiments to expand their scientific scope via Milky Way astrophysics.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Interstellar medium; Interstellar magnetic fields; Interstellar molecules; Interstellar dust; Polarimetry ; Interstellar synchrotron emission; Oort cloud objects; Cosmic microwave background radiation; Magnetohydrodynamics; Starlight polarization
English
2022
929
2
166
open
Hensley, B., Clark, S., Fanfani, V., Krachmalnicoff, N., Fabbian, G., Poletti, D., et al. (2022). The Simons Observatory: Galactic Science Goals and Forecasts. THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 929(2) [10.3847/1538-4357/ac5e36].
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Hensley-2022-Astrophys J-VoR.pdf

accesso aperto

Descrizione: Article
Tipologia di allegato: Publisher’s Version (Version of Record, VoR)
Dimensione 1.9 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.9 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/397291
Citazioni
  • Scopus 14
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 12
Social impact