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1. Understanding Polarized Dust Emission from ρ Ophiuchi A in Light of Grain Alignment and Disruption by Radiative Torques

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/abc6fe  

   Tram, Le Ngoc ; Hoang, Thiem ; Lee, Hyeseung ; Santos, Fabio P. ; Soam, Archana ; Lesaffre, Pierre ; Gusdorf, Antoine ; Reach, William T. ( January 2021 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract The alignment of dust grains with the ambient magnetic field produces polarization of starlight as well as thermal dust emission. Using the archival SOFIA/HAWC+ polarimetric data observed toward the ρ Ophiuchus (Oph) A cloud hosted by a B star at 89 and 154 μ m, we find that the fractional polarization of thermal dust emission first increases with the grain temperature and then decreases once the grain temperature exceeds ≃25–32 K. The latter trend differs from the prediction of the popular RAdiative Torques (RATs) alignment theory, which implies a monotonic increase of the polarization fraction with the grain temperature. We perform numerical modeling of polarized dust emission for the ρ Oph-A cloud and calculate the degree of dust polarization by simultaneously considering the dust grain alignment and rotational disruption by RATs. Our modeling results could successfully reproduce both the rising and declining trends of the observational data. Moreover, we show that the alignment of only silicate grains or a mixture of silicate–carbon grains within a composite structure can reproduce the observational trends, assuming that all dust grains follow a power-law size distribution. Although there are a number of simplifications and limitations to our modeling, our results suggest grains inmore »the ρ Oph-A cloud have a composite structure, and the grain size distribution has a steeper slope than the standard size distribution for the interstellar medium. Combination of SOFIA/HAWC+ data with JCMT observations 450 and 850  μ m would be useful to test the proposed scenario based on grain alignment and disruption by RATs.« less
2. SOFIA Observations of 30 Doradus. I. Far-infrared Dust Polarization and Implications for Grain Alignment and Disruption by Radiative Torques

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac13a1  

   Tram, Le Ngoc ; Hoang, Thiem ; Lopez-Rodriguez, Enrique ; Coudé, Simon ; Soam, Archana ; Andersson, B-G ; Lee, Min-Young ; Bonne, Lars ; Vacca, William D. ; Lee, Hyeseung ( December 2021 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud and mostly irradiated by the massive star cluster R136, 30 Doradus is an ideal target to test the leading theory of grain alignment and rotational disruption by RAdiative Torques (RATs). Here, we use publicly available polarized thermal dust emission observations of 30 Doradus at 89, 154, and 214 μ m using SOFIA/HAWC+. We analyze the variation of the dust polarization degree ( p ) with the total emission intensity ( I ), the dust temperature ( T d ), and the gas column density ( N H ) constructed from Herschel data. The 30 Doradus complex is divided into two main regions relative to R136, namely North and South. In the North, we find that the polarization degree first decreases and then increases before decreasing again when the dust temperature increases toward the irradiating cluster R136. The first depolarization likely arises from the decrease in grain alignment efficiency toward the dense medium due to the attenuation of the interstellar radiation field and the increase in the gas density. The second trend (the increase of p with T d ) is consistent with the RAT alignment theory. The final trend (the decrease of pmore »with T d ) is consistent with the RAT alignment theory only when the grain rotational disruption by RATs is taken into account. In the South, we find that the polarization degree is nearly independent of the dust temperature, while the grain alignment efficiency is higher around the peak of the gas column density and decreases toward the radiation source. The latter feature is also consistent with the prediction of rotational disruption by RATs.« less
3. Ultraviolet spectropolarimetry with polstar: interstellar medium science

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-022-04153-3  

   Andersson, B-G ; Clayton, G. C. ; Doney, K. D. ; Panopoulou, G. V. ; Hoang, T. ; Magalhaes, A. M. ; Yan, H. ; Ignace, R. ; Scowen, P. A. ( December 2022 , Astrophysics and Space Science)

   Continuum polarization over the UV-to-microwave range is due to dichroic extinction (or emission) by asymmetric, aligned dust grains. Scattering can also be an important source of polarization, especially at short wavelengths. Because of both grain alignment and scattering physics, the wavelength dependence of the polarization, generally, traces the size of the aligned grains. Similarly because of the differing wavelength dependencies of dichroic extinction and scattering polarization, the two can generally be reliably separated. Ultraviolet (UV) polarimetry therefore provides a unique probe of the smallest dust grains (diameter$< 0.09~\upmu \text{m}$$<0.09\text{μm}$), their mineralogy and interaction with the environment. However, the current observational status of interstellar UV polarization is very poor with less than 30 lines of sight probed. With the modern, quantitative and well-tested, theory of interstellar grain alignment now available, we have the opportunity to advance the understanding of the interstellar medium (ISM) by executing a systematic study of the UV polarization in the ISM of the Milky Way and near-by galaxies. The Polstar mission will provide the sensitivity and observing time needed to carry out such a program (probing hundreds of stars in the Milky Way and dozens of stars in the LMC/SMC), addressing questions of dust composition asmore »a function of size and location, radiation- and magnetic-field characteristics as well as unveiling the carrier of the 2175 Å extinction feature. In addition, using high-resolution UV line spectroscopy Polstar will search for and probe the alignment of, and polarization from, aligned atoms and ions - so called “Ground State Alignment”, a potentially powerful new probe of magnetic fields in the diffuse ISM.

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4. Dust polarized emission observations of NGC 6334: BISTRO reveals the details of the complex but organized magnetic field structure of the high-mass star-forming hub-filament network

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038624  

   Arzoumanian, D. ; Furuya, R. S. ; Hasegawa, T. ; Tahani, M. ; Sadavoy, S. ; Hull, C. L. ; Johnstone, D. ; Koch, P. M. ; Inutsuka, S. ; Doi, Y. ; et al ( March 2021 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   Context. Molecular filaments and hubs have received special attention recently thanks to new studies showing their key role in star formation. While the (column) density and velocity structures of both filaments and hubs have been carefully studied, their magnetic field (B-field) properties have yet to be characterized. Consequently, the role of B-fields in the formation and evolution of hub-filament systems is not well constrained. Aims. We aim to understand the role of the B-field and its interplay with turbulence and gravity in the dynamical evolution of the NGC 6334 filament network that harbours cluster-forming hubs and high-mass star formation. Methods. We present new observations of the dust polarized emission at 850 μ m toward the 2 pc × 10 pc map of NGC 6334 at a spatial resolution of 0.09 pc obtained with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) as part of the B-field In STar-forming Region Observations (BISTRO) survey. We study the distribution and dispersion of the polarized intensity ( PI ), the polarization fraction ( PF ), and the plane-of-the-sky B-field angle ( χ B_POS ) toward the whole region, along the 10 pc-long ridge and along the sub-filaments connected to the ridge and the hubs. We derivedmore »the power spectra of the intensity and χ B POS along the ridge crest and compared them with the results obtained from simulated filaments. Results. The observations span ~3 orders of magnitude in Stokes I and PI and ~2 orders of magnitude in PF (from ~0.2 to ~ 20%). A large scatter in PI and PF is observed for a given value of I . Our analyses show a complex B-field structure when observed over the whole region (~ 10 pc); however, at smaller scales (~1 pc), χ B POS varies coherently along the crests of the filament network. The observed power spectrum of χ B POS can be well represented with a power law function with a slope of − 1.33 ± 0.23, which is ~20% shallower than that of I . We find that this result is compatible with the properties of simulated filaments and may indicate the physical processes at play in the formation and evolution of star-forming filaments. Along the sub-filaments, χ B POS rotates frombeing mostly perpendicular or randomly oriented with respect to the crests to mostly parallel as the sub-filaments merge with the ridge and hubs. This variation of the B-field structure along the sub-filaments may be tracing local velocity flows of infalling matter in the ridge and hubs. Our analysis also suggests a variation in the energy balance along the crests of these sub-filaments, from magnetically critical or supercritical at their far ends to magnetically subcritical near the ridge and hubs. We also detect an increase in PF toward the high-column density ( N H 2 ≳ 10 23  cm −2 ) star cluster-forming hubs. These latter large PF values may be explained by the increase in grain alignment efficiency due to stellar radiation from the newborn stars, combined with an ordered B-field structure. Conclusions. These observational results reveal for the first time the characteristics of the small-scale (down to ~ 0.1 pc) B-field structure of a 10 pc-long hub-filament system. Our analyses show variations in the polarization properties along the sub-filaments that may be tracing the evolution of their physical properties during their interaction with the ridge and hubs. We also detect an impact of feedback from young high-mass stars on the local B-field structure and the polarization properties, which could put constraints on possible models for dust grain alignment and provide important hints as to the interplay between the star formation activity and interstellar B-fields.« less
5. The role of magnetic fields in the stability and fragmentation of filamentary molecular clouds: two case studies at OMC-3 and OMC-4

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1527  

   Li, Pak Shing ; Lopez-Rodriguez, Enrique ; Soam, Archana ; Klein, Richard I. ( June 2022 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   We present the stability analysis of two regions, OMC-3 and OMC-4, in the massive and long molecular cloud complex of Orion A. We obtained 214 $\mu$m HAWC + /SOFIA polarization data, and we make use of archival data for the column density and C18O (1–0) emission line. We find clear depolarization in both observed regions and that the polarization fraction is anticorrelated with the column density and the polarization-angle dispersion function. We find that the filamentary cloud and dense clumps in OMC-3 are magnetically supercritical and strongly subvirial. This region should be in the gravitational collapse phase and is consistent with many young stellar objects (YSOs) forming in the region. Our histogram of relative orientation (HRO) analysis shows that the magnetic field is dynamically sub-dominant in the dense gas structures of OMC-3. We present the first polarization map of OMC-4. We find that the observed region is generally magnetically subcritical except for an elongated dense core, which could be a result of projection effect of a filamentary structure aligned close to the line of sight. The relative large velocity dispersion and the unusual positive shape parameters at high column densities in the HROs analysis suggest that our viewing angle may be closemore »to axes of filamentary substructures in OMC-4. The dominating strong magnetic field in OMC-4 is unfavourable for star formation and is consistent with much fewer YSOs than in OMC-3.

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