CFA: Magnetic Fields Influence Regions as Stars Form

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CFA: Magnetic Fields Influence Regions as Stars Form

Post by bystander » Fri Apr 03, 2015 2:30 pm

As Stars Form, Magnetic Fields Influence Regions Big and Small
Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics | 2015 Mar 30
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Stars form when gravity pulls together material within giant clouds of gas and dust. But gravity isn't the only force at work. Both turbulence and magnetic fields battle gravity, either by stirring things up or by channeling and restricting gas flows, respectively. New research focusing on magnetic fields shows that they influence star formation on a variety of scales, from hundreds of light-years down to a fraction of a light-year.

The new study, which the journal Nature is publishing online on March 30th, probed the Cat's Paw Nebula, also known as NGC 6334. This nebula contains about 200,000 suns' worth of material that is coalescing to form new stars, some with up to 30 to 40 times as much mass as our sun. It is located 5,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius.

The team painstakingly measured the orientation of magnetic fields within the Cat's Paw. "We found that the magnetic field direction is quite well preserved from large to small scales, implying that self-gravity and cloud turbulence are not able to significantly alter the field direction," said lead author Hua-bai Li (The Chinese University of Hong Kong), who conducted the high-resolution observations while a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).

"Even though they're much weaker than Earth's magnetic field, these cosmic magnetic fields have an important effect in regulating how stars form," added Smithsonian co-author T.K. Sridharan (CfA).

The team observed polarized light coming from dust within the nebula using several facilities, including the Smithsonian's Submillimeter Array. "The SMA's unique capability to measure polarization at high angular resolution allowed access to the magnetic fields at the smallest spatial scales," said SMA director Ray Blundell (CfA). ...

Self-similar fragmentation regulated by magnetic fields in a region forming massive stars - Hua-bai Li et al
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=31579
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The Cat's Paw Nebula, also known as NGC 6334, comes alive in this <br />infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope. A new study of this <br />nebula finds that magnetic fields influence star formation on a variety <br />of scales, from hundreds of light-years down to a fraction of a light-year. <br />In this representative-color photo red shows light at a wavelength of <br />8 microns, green is 4.5 microns, and blue is 3.6 microns. <br />(Credit: S. Willis (CfA); NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSC)
The Cat's Paw Nebula, also known as NGC 6334, comes alive in this
infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope. A new study of this
nebula finds that magnetic fields influence star formation on a variety
of scales, from hundreds of light-years down to a fraction of a light-year.
In this representative-color photo red shows light at a wavelength of
8 microns, green is 4.5 microns, and blue is 3.6 microns.
(Credit: S. Willis (CfA); NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSC)
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