Self-similar fragmentation regulated by magnetic fields in a region forming massive stars

Hua-bai Li (), Ka Ho Yuen, Frank Otto, Po Kin Leung, T. K. Sridharan, Qizhou Zhang, Hauyu Liu, Ya-Wen Tang and Keping Qiu
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Hua-bai Li: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Ka Ho Yuen: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Frank Otto: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Po Kin Leung: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
T. K. Sridharan: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street
Qizhou Zhang: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street
Hauyu Liu: Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 11F Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU (National Taiwan University) No. 1
Ya-Wen Tang: Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 11F Astronomy-Mathematics Building, AS/NTU (National Taiwan University) No. 1
Keping Qiu: School of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University

Nature, 2015, vol. 520, issue 7548, 518-521

Abstract: Abstract Most molecular clouds are filamentary or elongated1,2,3. For those forming low-mass stars ( 8 solar masses). But whether the core field morphologies are inherited from the intercloud medium or governed by cloud turbulence is unknown, as is the effect of magnetic fields on cloud fragmentation at scales of 10 to 0.1 parsecs7,8,9. Here we report magnetic-field maps inferred from polarimetric observations of NGC 6334, a region forming massive stars, on the 100 to 0.01 parsec scale. NGC 6334 hosts young star-forming sites10,11,12 where fields are not severely affected by stellar feedback, and their directions do not change much over the entire scale range. This means that the fields are dynamically important. The ordered fields lead to a self-similar gas fragmentation: at all scales, there exist elongated gas structures nearly perpendicular to the fields. Many gas elongations have density peaks near the ends, which symmetrically pinch the fields. The field strength is proportional to the 0.4th power of the density, which is an indication of anisotropic gas contractions along the field. We conclude that magnetic fields have a crucial role in the fragmentation of NGC 6334.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/nature14291

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