Aims. Our purpose is to place firm observational constraints on the three most widely used theoretical models for the spatial configuration of the large-scale interstellar magnetic field in the Galactic disk, namely, the ring, the axisymmetric and the bisymmetric field models. Methods. We use the rotation measures (RMs) of low-latitude Galactic pulsars and combine them with their dispersion mea...

Aims. We present a parameter study of the magnetohydrodynamical dynamo driven by cosmic rays in the interstellar medium (ISM) focusing on the efficiency of magnetic field amplification and the issue of energy equipartition between magnetic, kinetic and cosmic

Hipparcos stellar parallaxes have been used to reanalyse existing interstellar polarization data. The main results are: – The nearest interstellar dust patches are at about 70 pc in some directions, in others beyond 150 pc. Thus the region devoid of dust, commonly identified with the Local Hot Bubble, is irregular in shape. – The interstellar magnetic field revealed by the nearest polarized sta...

We investigate the dynamical condensation process in a magnetized and thermally bistable flow, in one dimensional (slab) geometry. We find self-similar solutions able to describe the magneto-thermal process for weakly heterogeneous magnetic fields and perform a numerical simulation in the general case corresponding to the neutral interstellar medium. It is well known that a purely transverse ma...

We report an all-sky image of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) >6 kilo-electron volts produced by energetic protons occupying the region (heliosheath) between the boundary of the extended solar atmosphere and the local interstellar medium (LISM). The map obtained by the Ion and Neutral Camera (INCA) onboard Cassini reveals a broad belt of energetic protons whose nonthermal pressure is comparable ...

Polarimetry is one of the most informative techniques of studying magnetic fields in molecular clouds. How reliable the interpretation of the polarization maps in terms of magnetic fields is the issue that the grain alignment theory addresses. We show that grain alignment involves several processes acting simultaneously, but on different timescales. We explain that rotating dust grains get subs...

Both observations and modeling of magnetic fields in the diffuse interstellar gas of spiral galaxies are well developed but the theory has been confronted with observations for only a handful of individual galaxies. There is now sufficient data to consider statistical properties of galactic magnetic fields. We have collected data from the literature on the magnetic fields and interstellar media...

Aims. We seek to obtain a picture of the interstellar magnetic field in the Galactic center region that is as clear and complete as