An official website of the United States government
ABSTRACT We compare the structure of synthetic dust polarization with synthetic molecular line emission from radiative transfer calculations using a three-dimensional, turbulent collapsing-cloud magnetohydrodynamics simulation. The histogram of relative orientation (HRO) technique and the projected Rayleigh statistic (PRS) are considered. In our trans-Alfvénic (more strongly magnetized) simulation, there is a transition to perpendicular alignment at densities above ∼4 × 103 cm−3. This transition is recovered in most of our synthetic observations of optically thin molecular tracers; however, for 12CO it does not occur and the PRS remains in parallel alignment across the whole observer space. We calculate the physical depth of the optical depth τ = 1 surface and find that for 12CO it is largely located in front of the cloud mid-plane, suggesting that 12CO is too optically thick and instead mainly probes low-volume density gas. In our super-Alfvénic simulation, the magnetic field becomes significantly more tangled, and all observed tracers tend towards no preference for perpendicular or parallel alignment. An observable difference in alignment between optically thin and optically thick tracers may indicate the presence of a dynamically important magnetic field, though there is some degeneracy with viewing angle. We convolve our data with a Gaussian beam and compare it with HRO results of the Vela C molecular cloud. We find good agreement between these results and our sub-Alfvénic simulations when viewed with the magnetic field in the plane of the sky (especially when sensitivity limitations are considered), though the observations are also consistent with an intermediately inclined magnetic field.
more »
« less
Magnetic Field Alignment Relative to Multiple Tracers in the High-mass Star-forming Region RCW 36
Abstract We use polarization data from SOFIA HAWC+ to investigate the interplay between magnetic fields and stellar feedback in altering gas dynamics within the high-mass star-forming region RCW 36, located in Vela C. This region is of particular interest as it has a bipolar Hiiregion powered by a massive star cluster, which may be impacting the surrounding magnetic field. To determine if this is the case, we apply the histogram of relative orientations (HRO) method to quantify the relative alignment between the inferred magnetic field and elongated structures observed in several data sets such as dust emission, column density, temperature, and spectral line intensity maps. The HRO results indicate a bimodal alignment trend, where structures observed with dense gas tracers show a statistically significant preference for perpendicular alignment relative to the magnetic field, while structures probed by the photodissociation region (PDR) tracers tend to align preferentially parallel relative to the magnetic field. Moreover, the dense gas and PDR associated structures are found to be kinematically distinct such that a bimodal alignment trend is also observed as a function of line-of-sight velocity. This suggests that the magnetic field may have been dynamically important and set a preferred direction of gas flow at the time that RCW 36 formed, resulting in a dense ridge developing perpendicular to the magnetic field. However, on filament scales near the PDR region, feedback may be energetically dominating the magnetic field, warping its geometry and the associated flux-frozen gas structures, causing the observed preference for parallel relative alignment.
more »
« less
- PAR ID:
- 10555483
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 975, Issue 2, id.267, 35 pp.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 975
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 267
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Star formation Star forming regions Interstellar medium Interstellar magnetic fields H II regions Photodissociation regions Molecular clouds 1569 1565 847 845 694 1223 1072 Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
ABSTRACT The role played by magnetic field during star formation is an important topic in astrophysics. We investigate the correlation between the orientation of star-forming cores (as defined by the core major axes) and ambient magnetic field directions in (i) a 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulation, (ii) synthetic observations generated from the simulation at different viewing angles, and (iii) observations of nearby molecular clouds. We find that the results on relative alignment between cores and background magnetic field in synthetic observations slightly disagree with those measured in fully 3D simulation data, which is partly because cores identified in projected 2D maps tend to coexist within filamentary structures, while 3D cores are generally more rounded. In addition, we examine the progression of magnetic field from pc to core scale in the simulation, which is consistent with the anisotropic core formation model that gas preferably flows along the magnetic field towards dense cores. When comparing the observed cores identified from the Green Bank Ammonia Survey and Planck polarization-inferred magnetic field orientations, we find that the relative core–field alignment has a regional dependence among different clouds. More specifically, we find that dense cores in the Taurus molecular cloud tend to align perpendicular to the background magnetic field, while those in Perseus and Ophiuchus tend to have random (Perseus) or slightly parallel (Ophiuchus) orientations with respect to the field. We argue that this feature of relative core–field orientation could be used to probe the relative significance of the magnetic field within the cloud.more » « less
-
ABSTRACT Measuring interstellar magnetic fields is extremely important for understanding their role in different evolutionary stages of interstellar clouds and star formation. However, detecting the weak field is observationally challenging. We present measurements of the Zeeman effect in the 1665 and 1667 MHz (18 cm) lines of the hydroxyl radical (OH) lines towards the dense photodissociation region (PDR) associated with the compact H ii region DR 21 (Main). From the OH 18 cm absorption, observed with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, we find that the line-of-sight magnetic field in this region is ∼0.13 mG. The same transitions in maser emission towards the neighbouring DR 21(OH) and W 75S-FR1 regions also exhibit the Zeeman splitting. Along with the OH data, we use [C ii] 158 μm line and hydrogen radio recombination line data to constrain the physical conditions and the kinematics of the region. We find the OH column density to be ∼3.6 × 1016(Tex/25 K) cm−2, and that the 1665 and 1667 MHz absorption lines are originating from the gas where OH and C+ are co-existing in the PDR. Under reasonable assumptions, we find the measured magnetic field strength for the PDR to be lower than the value expected from the commonly discussed density–magnetic field relation while the field strength values estimated from the maser emission are roughly consistent with the same. Finally, we compare the magnetic field energy density with the overall energetics of DR 21’s PDR and find that, in its current evolutionary stage, the magnetic field is not dynamically important.more » « less
-
Abstract The recent Far-Infrared Polarimetric Large-Area Central Molecular Zone Exploration (FIREPLACE) survey with SOFIA has mapped plane-of-sky magnetic field orientations within the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way. Applying the Histogram of Relative Orientations analysis to the FIREPLACE data, we find that the relative orientation between magnetic fields and column density structures is random in low-density regions ( ) but becomes preferentially parallel in high-density regions (≳1023cm−2). This trend is in contrast with that of the nearby molecular clouds, where the relative orientation transitions from parallel to perpendicular with increasing column densities. However, the relative orientation varies between individual CMZ clouds. Comparisons with magnetohydrodynamic simulations specific to the CMZ conditions suggest that the observed parallel alignment is intrinsic, rather than artifacts caused by the projection effect. The origin of this parallel configuration may arise from the fact that most dense structures in the CMZ are not self-gravitating, as they are in supervirial states, except for the ministarburst region Sgr B2. These findings are consistent with the low star formation efficiency observed in the CMZ compared to that in the Galactic disk.more » « less
-
ABSTRACT Bok globules are small, dense clouds that act as isolated precursors for the formation of single or binary stars. Although recent dust polarization surveys, primarily with Planck, have shown that molecular clouds are strongly magnetized, the significance of magnetic fields in Bok globules has largely been limited to individual case studies, lacking a broader statistical understanding. In this work, we introduce a comprehensive optical polarimetric survey of 21 Bok globules. Using Gaia and near-infrared (IR) photometric data, we produce extinction maps for each target. Using the radiative torque alignment model customized to the physical properties of the Bok globule, we characterize the polarization efficiency of one representative globule as a function of its visual extinction. We thus find our optical polarimetric data to be a good probe of the globule’s magnetic field. Our statistical analysis of the orientation of elongated extinction structures relative to the plane-of-sky magnetic field orientations shows they do not align strictly parallel or perpendicular. Instead, the data is best explained by a bimodal distribution, with structures oriented at projected angles that are either parallel or perpendicular. The plane-of-sky magnetic field strengths on the scales probed by optical polarimetric data are measured using the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi technique. We then derive magnetic properties such as Alfvén Mach numbers and mass-to-magnetic flux ratios. Our findings statistically place the large-scale (A$$_{\mathrm{V}} < 7 \, \text{mag}$$) magnetic properties of Bok globules in a dynamically important domain.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad77c7
