Magnetic Field Morphology and Polarization Within Starburst Galaxy M82

Messier 82 is a unique type of galaxy called a starburst, where very high rates of star formation occur. All galaxies form a magnetic field through moving charged particles within the gas and dust that rotate around the central region. We can analyze the polarized emissions from these dust grains to interpret the magnetic field orientation of the M82. With HAWC+, an infrared camera that was installed on the SOFIA telescope and its polarimeter, we can map out the alignment of the magnetic field. Our analysis on the HAWC+ data shows that the orientation of the field differentiates for regions of M82, from the plane of the disk to the outflow. We found a correlation between the percent of dust grains polarized that decreases toward the central region of M82, contrasted with the flux of electromagnetic radiation that is absorbed by the dust that increases instead. Supernovae cause the aligned magnetic field in M82 to be pushed vertically outside the plane of the galaxy due to high galactic winds from the exploding stars, causing an outflow of gas and dust to be spilled into the intergalactic medium.