Synchrotron Emission from the Galaxy

Galactic synchrotron emission is a potentially confusing foreground, both in total power and in polarization, to the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation. It also contains much physical information in its own right. This review examines the amplitude, angular power spectrum and frequency spectrum of the synchrotron emission as derived from the presently available de-striped maps. There are as yet no maps at arcminute resolution at frequencies above 2.4 GHz. This incomplete information is supplemented with data from supernovae, which are thought to be the progenitors of the loops and spurs found in the Galactic emission. The possible variations of the frequency spectral index from pixel to pixel are highlighted. The relative contributions of free-free and synchrotron radiation are compared, and it is concluded that the free-free contribution may be smaller than had been predicted by COBE. New high resolution polarization surveys of the Galactic plane suggest detail on all scales so far observed. At high latitudes the large percentage polarisation means that the foreground contamination of the polarised CMB signal will be more serious than for the unpolarized radiation.