Studying Anisotropy of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence by Synchrotron Polarization Intensity (2001.03276v1)

Abstract: Based on statistical analysis of synchrotron polarization intensity, we study the anisotropic properties of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. The second-order normalized structure function, quadrupole ratio modulus and anisotropic coefficient are synergistically used to characterize the anisotropy of the polarization intensity. On the basis of pre-decomposition data cubes, we first explore the anisotropy of the polarization intensity in different turbulence regimes and find that the most significant anisotropy occurs in the sub-Alfv\'enic regime. Using post-decomposition data cubes in this regime, we then study the anisotropy of the polarization intensity from Alfv\'en, slow and fast modes. Statistics of polarization intensity from Alfv\'en and slow modes demonstrate the significant anisotropy while statistics of polarization intensity from fast modes show isotropic structures, which is consistent with the earlier results provided in Cho & Lazarian (2002). As a result, both quadrupole ratio modulus and anisotropic coefficient for polarization intensities can quantitatively recover the anisotropy of underlying compressible MHD turbulence. The synergistic use of the two methods helps enhance the reliability of the magnetic field measurement.