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arXiv · 2505.11187

PRIMAGAL: a PRIMAger Galactic Plane Far-IR polarization survey to quantify the magnetic fields' role in the formation and evolution of large star-forming filaments

S. Molinari·J. D. Soler·V. -M. Pelkonen·A. Nucara·E. Schisano·A. Traficante·C. Mininni·M. Benedettini·A. Coletta·D. Elia·S. Pezzuto
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Abstract

The PRIMAger instrument on board the proposed PRIMA satellite will offer the unprecedented capability to obtain hundreds of square-degree maps in polarised emission at sub-arcminute resolution in four Far-IR bands. This will open a unique window to study magnetic fields in our Galaxy. PRIMAGAL, a proposed survey of polarized dust emission in the Milky Way Galactic Plane will determine the strength and orientation of magnetic fields towards several thousands of filamentary clouds in a wide range of linear masses, column densities, evolution, star-formation rates and efficiencies, and Galactic environment. This survey will address for the first time in a statistically significant fashion the role that magnetic fields play in shaping the formation, evolution and fragmentation of dense ISM filaments down to a minimum scale of 0.4 pc up to 8 kpc distance from the Sun. A 4-band polarization survey of the Galactic Plane with |b|<1{\deg} (a total of 720 sq. deg.) can be executed by PRIMAger in about 1200 hours including all mapping and instrument overhead.

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S. Molinari, J. D. Soler, V. -M. Pelkonen, A. Nucara, E. Schisano, A. Traficante, C. Mininni, M. Benedettini, A. Coletta, D. Elia, S. Pezzuto. 2025-05-16. PRIMAGAL: a PRIMAger Galactic Plane Far-IR polarization survey to quantify the magnetic fields' role in the formation and evolution of large star-forming filaments. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.jatis.11.3.031610

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