ALMA Achieved Highest Sensitivity Polarimetry in Millimeter Wavelength - News & Columns - ALMA NAOJ
http://alma.mtk.nao.ac.jp/..._achieved_highest_sensitivity_polarimetry_in_millimeter_wavelength.html
Researchers have demonstrated ALMA's unprecedented capability for polarimetry in millimeter wavebands. Polarimetry is an important method
to investigate magnetic fields in the Universe and astronomers eager to use ALMA for unveiling magnetic mysteries, such as the launching
mechanism of high energy jets from supermassive black holes.
The magnetic field is ubiquitous and plays considerable roles in the Universe. We can find the directions by using a compass thanks to
Earth's magnetic field. Sunspots and solar flares are driven by magnetic fields in the Sun. Magnetic fields are also important in various
phenomena including formation of stars and planets and exotic events around black holes. In spite of its significance, measurement of
magnetic fields is challenging. Polarimetry is one of the handful methods to investigate magnetic fields in the Universe.