Work

High-Resolution Millimeter-Wave Mapping of Linearly Polarized Dust Emission: Magnetic Field Structure in Orion

Year: 1998

Type: article

Abstract: We present 1.3 and 3.3 mm polarization maps of Orion-KL obtained with the BIMA array at approximately 4'' resolution. Thermal emission from magnetically aligned dust grains produces the polarization. Along the Orion "ridge" the polarization position angle varies smoothly from about 10° to 40°, in agreement with previous lower resolution maps. In a small region south of the Orion "hot core," however, the position angle changes by 90°. This abrupt change in polarization direction is not necessarily the signpost of a twisted magnetic field. Rather, in this localized region, processes other than the usual Davis-Greenstein mechanism might align the dust grains with their long axes parallel with the field, orthogonal to their normal orientation.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1086/311485

Authors: R. Rao, R. M. Crutcher, R. L. Plambeck, M. C. H. Wright

Institutions: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of California, Berkeley

Language: English

Topic: Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Awards: Astronomy with the BIMA Array, Astronomy with the BIMA Array, Collaborative Project: "A Study of Magnetic Fields in Interstellar Molecular Clouds"