Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:40:41.814Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Submillimetre polarimetric observations of magnetic fields in star-forming regions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2007

Rachel L. Curran ,
Antonio Chrysostomou  and
Brenda C. Matthews
Rachel L. Curran
Affiliation:
School of Cosmic Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 5 Merrion Square, Dublin 2, Ireland email: [email protected]
Antonio Chrysostomou
Affiliation:
Joint Astronomy Centre, 880 N. A'ohoku Place, University Park, Hilo, HawaiiUSA email: [email protected]
Brenda C. Matthews
Affiliation:
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, Canada email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Submillimetre imaging polarimetry is one of the most powerful tools at present for studying magnetic fields in star-forming regions, and the only way to gain significant information on the structure of these fields. We present analysis of the largest sample (to date) of both high- and low-mass star-forming regions observed using this technique. A variety of magnetic field morphologies are observed, with no single field morphology favoured. Both the continuum emission morphologies and the field morphologies are generally more complex for the high-mass sample than the low-mass sample. The large scale magnetic field (observed with the JCMT; 14″ resolution) of NGC1333 IRAS2 is interpreted to be weak (compared to the energetic contributions due to turbulence) from the random field pattern observed. On smaller scales (observed with the BIMA array; 3″ resolution) the field is observed to be almost radial, consistent with the polarisation nulls in the JCMT data – suggesting that on smaller scales, the field may be more important to the star formation process. An analysis of the magnetic field direction and the jet/outflow axis is also discussed. Cumulative distribution functions of the difference between the mean position angle of the magnetic field vectors and the jet/outflow axis reveal no correlation. However, visual inspection of the maps reveal alignment of the magnetic field and jet/outflow axis in 7 out of 15 high-mass regions and 3 out of 8 low-mass regions.

Keywords

Techniques: polarimetricsubmillimetrestars: formationstars: magnetic fields
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 3 , Symposium S243: Star-Disk Interaction in Young Stars , May 2007 , pp. 63 - 70
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2007

References

Aitken, D.K., Estathiou, A., Hough, J.H. & McCall, A. 2002, MNRAS 329, 647Google Scholar
Chrysostomou, A., et al. 2002 A&A 385, 1014Google Scholar
Curran, R.L., Chrysostomou, A., Collett, J.L. et al. 2004, A&A 421, 195Google Scholar
Curran, R.L. & Chrysostomou, A. 2007a, MNRAS Submitted.Google Scholar
Curran, R.L. & Chrysostomou, A. 2007b, in prep.Google Scholar
Davis, L. & Greenstein, J.L. 1951, ApJ 114, 206Google Scholar
Greaves, J.S., et al. 2003 MNRAS 340, 353Google Scholar
Holland, W.S., et al. 1999 MNRAS 303, 659Google Scholar
Lai, S.-P., et al. 2001, ApJ 561, 864Google Scholar
Matthews, B.C. & Wilson, C.D. 2002 ApJ 571, 356Google Scholar
Ménard, F. & Duchêne, G. 2004, A&A, 425, 973Google Scholar