Studies of Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) with the SKA

Clive Dickinson, Yacine Ali-Hamoud, Robert J. Beswick, Simon Casassus, Kieran Cleary, Bruce T. Draine, Ricardo Genova-Santos, Keith Grainge, Thiem C. Hoang, Alex Lazarian, Eric J. Murphy, Roberta Paladini, Michael W. Peel, Yvette Perrott, Jose-Alberto Rubino-Martin, Anna Scaife, Chris T. Tibbs, Laurent Verstraete, Matias Vidal, Robert A. Watson, Nathalie Ysard

Published 2014-12-16Version 1

In this chapter, we will outline the scientific motivation for studying Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) with the SKA. AME is thought to be due to electric dipole radiation from small spinning dust grains, although thermal fluctuations of magnetic dust grains may also contribute. Studies of this mysterious component would shed light on the emission mechanism, which then opens up a new window onto the interstellar medium (ISM). AME is emitted mostly in the frequency range $\sim 10$--100\,GHz, and thus the SKA has the potential of measuring the low frequency side of the AME spectrum, particularly in band 5. Science targets include dense molecular clouds in the Milky Way, as well as extragalactic sources. We also discuss the possibility of detecting rotational line emission from Poly-cyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), which could be the main carriers of AME. Detecting PAH lines of a given spacing would allow for a definitive identification of specific PAH species.