FOR 1254: Magnetisation of Interstellar and Intergalactic Media: The Prospects of Low-Frequency Radio Observations

LOFAR，即低频阵列，是荷兰、德国等欧洲国家在建的新一代射电望远镜。它目前正在逐步投入运营。其前所未有的灵敏度和角度分辨率将打开一扇了解低频天空的新窗口，过去由于寻求在越来越高的无线电频率上进行调查，低频天空在很大程度上被忽视了。由于一个LOFAR站已经投入使用，又有四个受资助的站，德国在欧洲扩展LOFAR和制定长期基线观测方面发挥了带头作用。“宇宙磁性”是LOFAR的六个重点科学项目之一，由德国科学家牵头。同步加速器偏振是这一关键项目的主要工具之一。低频偏振观测具有挑战性，需要仔细的工具来进行观察、校准和数据分析。来自试运行阶段(2010年初)和完整LOFAR阵列(2010/11)的预期数据将使我们能够调查银河系、附近星系和星系团中微弱、扩展的磁场的分布和来源，并可能首次探测到星系间细丝的磁场。研究单位将建立一个由经验丰富的德国科学家组成的网络，为偏振观测和宇宙磁性研究准备LOFAR。

LOFAR, the Low Frequency Array, is a new-generation radio telescope under construction in the Netherlands, Germany and other European countries. It is currently becoming operational incrementally. Its unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution will open a new window to the low-frequency sky that has been largely neglected in the past, owing to the quest for investigations at higher and higher radio frequencies. With one LOFAR station already operational and four more funded stations, Germany took the lead in the European expansion of LOFAR and in the development of long-baseline observations. "Cosmic Magnetism" is one of six Key Science Projects of LOFAR and is led by German scientists. Synchrotron polarisation is one of the main tools of this key project. Low-frequency polarisation observations are challenging and require careful tools for observation, calibration and data analysis. The expected data from the commissioning phase (beginning of 2010) and from the full LOFAR array (2010/11) will allow to investigate the distribution and origin of weak, extended magnetic fields in the Milky Way, nearby galaxies and galaxy clusters, and possibly detect magnetic fields from intergalactic filaments for the first time. The Research Unit is to establish a network of experienced German scientists to prepare LOFAR for polarisation observations and for studies of cosmic magnetism.