High resolution polarization measurements in nearby galaxies in The Local Group L Band Survey

There is evidence that many processes in galaxies, including gas dynamics, galactic outflows, the propagation of cosmic rays, the star formation rate and the initial stellar mass function are all affected by the magnetic field of galaxies. Polarization observations of nearby galaxies with high angular resolution can help us study both the small and large-scale magnetic fields of galaxies, and provide important clues to how they develop. We present polarization data from the Local Group L Band Survey (LGLBS), a Very Large Array radio survey of the six closest, actively star-forming galaxies on the Northern Sky, providing the best-possible (using all array configurations), arcsecond-scale resolution (10-100 pc) at 1–2 GHz. Our sample includes M31, M33, and four dwarf galaxies (NGC 6822, IC10, IC 1613, WLM). Using this dataset, we can improve our understanding of the magnetic fields in nearby galaxies in high resolution. The diffuse polarized emission of the galaxies, and the rotation measure of polarized background sources behind these galaxies can provide insights into the magnetic field structure and strength of the galaxies. With approximately 40 background sources/deg2, this dataset will provide a better RM grid compared to previous studies. Furthermore, the total intensity maps can be used to estimate the total magnetic field strength, assuming equipartition. In this talk, we will present the first polarization maps of the galaxies at a few arcseconds resolution.