Paper: astro-ph/0601356
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 02:18:41 GMT (947kb)

Title: Introduction: Paleoheliosphere versus PaleoLISM

Authors: Priscilla C. Frisch

Comments: The article will appear in the book "Solar Journey: The Significance
of Our Galactic Environment for the Heliosphere and Earth", Springer, in
press (2006), editor P. C. Frisch
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Speculations that encounters with interstellar clouds modify the terrestrial
climate have appeared in the scientific literature for over 85 years. This
article introduces a series of articles that seek to give substance to these
speculations by examining the exact mechanisms that link the pressure and
composition of the interstellar medium surrounding the Sun to the physical
properties of the inner heliosphere at the Earth.

\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0601356 , 947kb)

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Paper: astro-ph/0601357
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2006 02:45:13 GMT (306kb)

Title: Pulsar rotation measures and the large-scale structure of Galactic
magnetic field

Authors: J.L. Han (NAOC), R.N. Manchester (ATNF), A.G. Lyne (Jodrell Obs), G.J.
Qiao (PKU), W. van Straten (UTB)

Comments: ApJ accepted. 16 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables, 223 pulsar RMs
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The large-scale magnetic field of our Galaxy can be probed in three
dimensions using Faraday rotation of pulsar signals. We report on the
determination of 223 rotation measures from polarization observations of
relatively distant southern pulsars made using the Parkes radio telescope.
Combined with previously published observations these data give clear evidence
for large-scale counterclockwise fields (viewed from the north Galactic pole)
in the spiral arms interior to the Sun and weaker evidence for a
counterclockwise field in the Perseus arm. However, in interarm regions,
including the Solar neighbourhood, we present evidence that suggests that
large-scale fields are clockwise. We propose that the large-scale Galactic
magnetic field has a bisymmetric structure with reversals on the boundaries of
the spiral arms. Streaming motions associated with spiral density waves can
directly generate such a structure from an initial inwardly directed radial
field. Large-scale fields increase toward the Galactic Center, with a mean
value of about 2~$\mu$G in the Solar neighbourhood and 4~$\mu$G at a
Galactocentric radius of 3 kpc.

\\ ( http://arXiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0601357 , 306kb)