Origin and Energy Source of Galactic Center Radio Filaments

Determine the astrophysical origin of the Galactic Center non-thermal radio filaments and identify the source of the energetic particles responsible for their radio emission, specifically in the population of thin linear structures that trace magnetic field lines running perpendicular to the Galactic plane.

Background

The paper discusses the remarkable population of elongated non-thermal radio filaments near the Galactic Center, which trace magnetic field lines largely perpendicular to the Galactic plane. Despite extensive observations, the mechanism that generates these filaments and the identity of the energetic particle source driving their emission are not established.

The authors discovered a millisecond pulsar (PSR J1744−2946) embedded in a low-luminosity radio filament (the "Sunfish"), and note that many Galactic Center filaments appear to have compact radio sources embedded within them. The association of pulsars with filamentary structures, along with proposals involving cosmic-ray winds from Galactic Center activity, motivates resolving the filaments' origin and energy source.