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Abstract:
Magnetic fields and turbulence are important components of the
interstellar medium (ISM) of star-forming galaxies. It is challenging
to measure the properties of the small-scale ISM magnetic fields
(magnetic fields at scales smaller than the turbulence driving
scale). Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate how the
second-order rotation measure (RM, which depends on thermal electron
density and magnetic field) structure function can probe the
properties of small-scale random magnetic fields. Particularly, we
show that computing the RM structure function with a higher-order
stencil (more than the commonly-used two-point stencil) is necessary
to accurately estimate the slope of the structure function. We then
apply our results to radio polarisation observations of the Small and
Large Magellanic Clouds and determine the strength and scale of their
small-scale magnetic fields.
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