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Cosmic Magnetic Fields: from Stars and Galaxies to the Primordial Universe

Most of the baryonic matter in the Universe is permeated by magnetic fields which affect many, if not most, of astrophysical phenomena both, in compact sources and in diffuse gas. Recent years have been marked by a worldwide surge of interest in the astrophysical magnetic fields, their origin, and their influence on the formation and evolution of astrophysical objects (stars, galaxies, cooling flows). This growing interest is in part due to the fact that it has become possible to trace magnetic fields in molecular clouds, over vast extensions of the Milky Way and to study extragalactic magnetic fields, including fields in clusters of galaxies. With the combination of various techniques, such as Zeeman and Faraday rotation measurements with synchrotron and aligned grain polarimetry, it is now possible to undertake quantitative observational studies of magnetic fields, the results of which can be compared with high resolution dynamo and MHD turbulence simulations. This brings the field to a new stage. In this paper, I will briefly review the importance of the cosmic magnetic fields both from a theoretical and from an observational perspective, focusing on their role in stellar and compact objects, in the interstellar medium and star formation regions, and in galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the primordial Universe.