A study of the regular structure of the galactic magnetic field using WMAP5 polarization data at 22 GHz

We study the spatial structure of the 3-dimensional large-scale pattern of the Galactic Magnetic Field using the polarization maps obtained by the WMAP satellite at 22 GHz. By using five different models of the large-scale magnetic field of the Milky Way and a model for the cosmic rays distribution, we predict the expected polarized synchrotron emission. Those maps are compared to the observed 22 GHz polarization data using a Maximum Likelihood method. For each model, we obtain the parameter values which better reproduce the data and obtain their marginal probability distribution functions. We find that the model that best reproduces the observed polarization maps is an "axisymmetric" model.