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N. Pourjafari

Publications and source records attributed to N. Pourjafari.

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CHANG-ES XL: Magnetic Field Structures in the Disk and Halo of NGC 891

We present new Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array S-band (2-4 GHz) observations of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891, complemented by C-band data, to investigate the structure of its radio continuum halo. Using rotation measure synthesis we detected an extended polarized halo, with most spatially extended polarized emission confined to Faraday depths within +/- 150 rad m-2. We identified a localized region in the north-east side of the galaxy that shows an enhancement in polarized intensity (not in percentage polarization). By combining the radio data with H-alpha and diffuse X-ray maps, we discuss a possible origin for this structure: a superbubble powered by clustered supernovae. Across the disk and halo, the percentage polarization decreases toward the midplane but shows a mild wavelength dependence, despite the edge-on orientation of NGC 891. This behavior implies that the depolarization cannot be dominated by small-scale Faraday rotation within the disk. Instead, it is possible that most of the observed polarized emission arises on the Earth-facing side of the galaxy. Our peak rotation measure (RM) map shows a smooth transition along the major axis, consistent with a large scale axisymmetric magnetic field. Using H-alpha and UV data, we analyzed the distribution of H II regions and found that they are parts of different spiral arms. We also identified a faint, isolated H II region at a galactocentric radius of 16.9 kpc, with both H-alpha and far-UV counterparts, indicating star formation outside the thin disk.

astro-ph.GA

CHANG-ES: XXXVI. The thin and thick radio discs

Context. Edge-on spiral galaxies give us an outsiders' view of the radio halo, which envelops these galaxies. The radio halos are caused by extra-planar cosmic-ray electrons that emit synchrotron emission in magnetic fields. Aims. We aim to study the origin of radio halos around galaxies and infer the role of cosmic-rays in supporting the gaseous discs. We would like to test the influence of star formation as the main source of cosmic rays as well as other fundamental galaxy properties such as mass and size. Methods. We present a study of radio continuum scale heights in 22 nearby edge-on galaxies from the CHANG-ES survey. We employ deep observations with the Jansky Very Large Array in the S-band (2-4 GHz), imaging at 7" angular resolution. We measure scale heights in three strips within the effective radio continuum radius, correcting for the influence of angular resolution and inclination angle. We include only galaxies where a distinction between the two disc components can be made in at least one of the strips, providing us with robust measurements of both scale heights. Results. We find a strong positive correlation between scale heights of the thin and thick discs and star-forming radius as well as star-formation rate (SFR); moderately strong correlations are found for the mass surface density and the ratio of SFR-to-mass surface density; no correlation is found with SFR surface density alone. Yet the SFR surface density plays a role as well: galaxies with high SFR surface densities have a rather roundish shape, whereas galaxies with little star formation show only a relatively small vertical extent in comparison to their size. Conclusions. Thick gaseous discs are partially supported by cosmic-ray pressure. Our results are a useful benchmark for simulations of galaxy evolution that include cosmic rays.

astro-ph.GA