A multi-messenger investigation of magnetic fields in the Local Universe

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Marcus Brüggen, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: from 2017 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 364282880

In the proposed project we will study the question of how magnetic fields on scales between several Megaparsecs to several Gigaparsecs can be probed by various messengers. In particular, we will address the following questions:1. How can radio observations of the cosmic web be used to infer properties of large-scale magnetic fields?2. How can UHECR observations inform us about the properties of magnetic fields in the local Universe?3. How large is the effect caused by extragalactic magnetic fields onto the propagation of GeV-TeV photons from high-redshift source? How can we use this signal to constrain the distribution of magnetic fields on > 100 Mpc scales?For this purpose we will produce constrained cosmological simulations and analyse them by producing(i) mock observations of the radio emission emitted by relativistic electrons accelerated at shock waves, (ii) artificial cosmic-ray events by populating our simulation with UHECR sources taken from a catalogue of local active galactic nuclei and simulating the propagation of UHECRs using the code CRPropa(iii) simulations of electromagnetic cascades initiated by high-energy photons and electrons interacting with extragalactic background light,and(iv) models of the conversion of photons into axion-like particles in the presence of cosmic magnetic fields.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants