No Arabic abstract
We present results of our $R-$band polarimetry of a cometary globule, LBN 437 (Gal96-15, $ell$ $=$ 96$degree$, textit{b} $=-15degree$), to study magnetic field geometry of the cloud. We estimated a distance of $360pm65$ pc to LBN 437 (also one additional cloud, CB 238) using near-IR photometric method. Foreground contribution to the observed polarisation values was subtracted by making polarimetric observations of stars that are located in the direction of the cloud and with known distances from the Hipparcos parallax measurements. The magnetic field geometry of LBN 437 is found to follow the curved shape of the globule head. This could be due to the drag that the magnetic field lines could have experienced because of the ionisation radiation from the same exciting source that caused the cometary shape of the cloud. The orientation of the outflow from the Herbig A4e star, LkH$alpha$ 233 (or V375 Lac), located at the head of LBN 437, is found to be parallel to both the initial (prior to the ionising source was turned on) ambient magnetic field (inferred from a star HD 214243 located just in front of the cloud) and the Galactic plane.
The effects of initially uniform magnetic fields on the formation and evolution of dense pillars and cometary globules at the boundaries of H II regions are investigated using 3D radiation-magnetohydrodynamics simulations. It is shown, in agreement with previous work, that a strong initial magnetic field is required to significantly alter the non-magnetised dynamics because the energy input from photoionisation is so large that it remains the dominant driver of the dynamics in most situations. Additionally it is found that for weak and medium field strengths an initially perpendicular field is swept into alignment with the pillar during its dynamical evolution, matching magnetic field observations of the `Pillars of Creation in M16 and also some cometary globules. A strong perpendicular magnetic field remains in its initial configuration and also confines the photoevaporation flow into a bar-shaped dense ionised ribbon which partially shields the ionisation front and would be readily observable in recombination lines. A simple analytic model is presented to explain the properties of this bright linear structure. These results show that magnetic field strengths in star-forming regions can in principle be significantly constrained by the morphology of structures which form at the borders of H II regions.
Cometary globules, dense molecular gas structures exposed to the UV radiation, are found inside HII regions. Understanding the nature and origin of these structures through a kinematic study of the molecular gas is useful to advance in our knowledge of the interplay between radiation and molecular gas. Using ASTE we carried out molecular observations towards two cometary globules (Sim129 and Sim130) in the HII region Sh2-236. We mapped two regions with the 12CO J=3-2 and HCO+ J=4-3 lines. Additionally, two single pointings of C2H (N=4-3), HNC and HCN J=4-3 were observed. We combined our observations with public infrared and optical data to analyse the distribution and kinematics of the gas. We found kinematic signatures of infalling gas in the 12CO J=3-2 and C2H J=4-3 spectra towards Sim129 . We detected HCO+, HCN, and HNC J=4-3 only towards Sim130. The HCN/HNC integrated ratio of about 3 found in Sim130 suggests that the possible star formation activity within the globule has not yet ionized the gas. The location of NVSS 052255+33315, which peaks towards the brightest border of the globule, supports this scenario. The non-detection of these molecules towards Sim129 could be due to the radiation arising from the star formation activity inside this globule. The ubiquitous presence of the C2H molecule towards both globules shows the action of nearby O-B stars irradiating their external layers. Based on mid-infrared emission, we identified two new structures: a region of diffuse emission (R1) located, in projection, in front of the head of Sim129, and a pillar-like feature (P1) placed besides Sim130. Based on 12CO J=3-2, we found molecular gas associated with Sim129, Sim130, R1 and P1 at radial velocities of -1.5, -11, +10, and +4 km/s, respectively. Therefore, while Sim129 and P1 are located at the far side of the shell, Sim130 is placed at the near side, consistent with earlier results.
We expand on the dispersion analysis of polarimetry maps toward applications to interferometry data. We show how the filtering of low-spatial frequencies can be accounted for within the idealized Gaussian turbulence model, initially introduced for single-dish data analysis, to recover reliable estimates for correlation lengths of magnetized turbulence, as well as magnetic field strengths (plane-of-the-sky component) using the Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi method. We apply our updated technique to TADPOL/CARMA data obtained on W3(OH), W3 Main, and DR21(OH). For W3(OH) our analysis yields a turbulence correlation length $deltasimeq19$ mpc, a ratio of turbulent-to-total magnetic energy $leftlangle B_{mathrm{t}}^{2}rightrangle /leftlangle B^{2}rightrangle simeq0.58$, and a magnetic field strength $B_{0}sim1.1:mathrm{mG}$; for W3 Main $deltasimeq22$ mpc, $leftlangle B_{mathrm{t}}^{2}rightrangle /leftlangle B^{2}rightrangle simeq0.74$, and $B_{0}sim0.7:mathrm{mG}$; while for DR21(OH) $deltasimeq12$ mpc, $leftlangle B_{mathrm{t}}^{2}rightrangle /leftlangle B^{2}rightrangle simeq0.70$, and $B_{0}sim1.2:mathrm{mG}$.
[abridged] The role of magnetic fields in the process of star formation is a matter of continuous debate. Clear observational proof of the general influence of magnetic fields on the early phase of cloud collapse is still pending. First results on Bok globules with simple structures indicate dominant magnetic fields across large spatial scales (Bertrang+2014). The aim of this study is to test the magnetic field influence across Bok globules with more complex density structures. We apply near-infrared polarimetry to trace the magnetic field structure on scales of 10^4-10^5au in selected Bok globules. The combination of these measurements with archival data in the optical and sub-mm wavelength range allows us to characterize the magnetic field on scales of 10^3-10^6au. We present polarimetric data in the near-infrared wavelength range for the three Bok globules CB34, CB56, and [OMK2002]18, combined with archival polarimetric data in the optical wavelength range for CB34 and CB56, and in the sub-millimeter wavelength range for CB34 and [OMK2002]18. We find a strong polarization signal (P>2%) in the near-infrared and strongly aligned polarization segments on large scales (10^4-10^6au) for all three globules. This indicates dominant magnetic fields across Bok globules with complex density structures. To reconcile our findings in globules, the lowest mass clouds known, and the results on intermediate (e.g., Taurus) and more massive (e.g., Orion) clouds, we postulate a mass dependent role of magnetic fields, whereby magnetic fields appear to be dominant on low and high mass but rather sub-dominant on intermediate mass clouds.
We investigate the formation and evolution of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) by the collision of convergent warm neutral medium (WNM) streams in the interstellar medium, in the presence of magnetic fields and ambipolar diffusion (AD), focusing on the evolution of the star formation rate (SFR) and efficiency (SFE), as well as of the mass-to-magnetic-flux ratio (M2FR) in the forming clouds. We find that: 1) Clouds formed by supercritical inflow streams proceed directly to collapse, while clouds formed by subcritical streams first contract and then re-expand, oscillating on the scale of tens of Myr. 2) Our suite of simulations with initial magnetic field strength of 2, 3, and 4 $muG$ show that only supercritical or marginal critical streams lead to reasonable star forming rates. 3) The GMCs M2FR is a generally increasing function of time, whose growth rate depends on the details of how mass is added to the GMC from the WNM. 4) The M2FR is a highly fluctuating function of position in the clouds. 5) In our simulations, the SFE approaches stationarity, because mass is added to the GMC at a similar rate at which it converts mass to stars. In such an approximately stationary regime, the SFE provides a proxy of the supercritical mass fraction in the cloud. 6) We observe the occurrence of buoyancy of the low-M2FR regions within the gravitationally-contracting GMCs, so that the latter naturally segregate into a high-density, high-M2FR core and a low-density, low-M2FR envelope, without the intervention of AD. (Abridged)