Ya-Wen Tang

DR 21(OH): A HIGHLY FRAGMENTED, MAGNETIZED, TURBULENT DENSE CORE

We present high angular resolution observations of the massive star-forming core DR21(OH) at 880 μ mu sing the Submillimeter Array (SMA). The dense core exhibits an overall velocity gradient in a Keplerian-like pattern, which breaks at the center of the core where SMA 6 and SMA 7 are located. The dust polarization shows a complex magnetic field, compatible with a toroidal configuration. This is in contrast with the large, parsec-scale filament that surrounds the core, where there is a smooth magnetic field. The total magnetic field strengths in the filament and in the core are 0.9 and 2.1 mG, respectively. We found evidence of magnetic field diffusion at the core scales, far beyond the expected value for ambipolar diffusion. It is possible that the diffusion arises from fast magnetic reconnection in the presence of turbulence. The dynamics of the DR 21(OH) core appear to be controlled energetically in equal parts by the magnetic field, magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, and the angular momentum. The effect of the angular momentum (this is a fast rotating core) is probably causing the observed toroidal field configuration. Yet, gravitation overwhelms all the forces, making this a clear supercritical core with a mass-to-flux ratio of � 6 times the critical value. However, simulations show that this is not enough for the high level of fragmentation observed at 1000 AU scales. Thus, rotation and outflow feedback are probably the main causes of the observed fragmentation.

First Confirmed Detection of a Bipolar Molecular Outflow from a Young Brown Dwarf

Studying the earliest stages in the birth of stars is crucial for understanding how they form. Brown dwarfs with masses between that of stars and planets are not massive enough to maintain stable hydrogen-burning fusion reactions during most of their lifetime. Their origins are subject to much debate in recent literature because their masses are far below the typical mass where core collapse is expected to occur. We present the first confirmed evidence that brown dwarfs undergo a phase of molecular outflow that is typical of young stars. Using the Submillimeter Array, we have obtained a map of a bipolar molecular outflow from a young brown dwarf. We estimate an outflow mass of -->1.6 × 10−4 M☉ and a mass-loss rate of -->1.4 × 10−9 M☉. These values are over 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the typical ones for T Tauri stars. From our millimeter continuum data and our own analysis of Spitzer infrared photometry, we estimate that the brown dwarf has a disk with a mass of -->8 × 10−3 M☉ and an outer disk radius of 80 AU. Our results demonstrate that the bipolar molecular outflow operates down to planetary masses, occurring in brown dwarfs as a scaled-down version of the universal process seen in young stars.

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

Most molecular clouds are filamentary or elongated. For those forming low-mass stars (<8 solar masses), the competition between self-gravity and turbulent pressure along the dynamically dominant intercloud magnetic field (10 to 100 parsecs) shapes the clouds to be elongated either perpendicularly or parallel to the fields. A recent study also suggested that on the scales of 0.1 to 0.01 parsecs, such fields are dynamically important within cloud cores forming massive 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 parsecs. 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 sites 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.

Prevalence of Tidal Interactions among Local Seyfert Galaxies

No mechanisms have hitherto been conclusively demonstrated to be responsible for initiating optically luminous nuclear (Seyfert) activity in local disk galaxies. Only a small minority of such galaxies are visibly disturbed in optical starlight, with the observed disturbances being at best marginally stronger than those found in matched samples of inactive galaxies. Here we report the first systematic study of an optically selected sample of 23 active galaxies in atomic hydrogen (H I) gas, which is the most sensitive and enduring tracer known of tidal interactions. Eighteen of these galaxies are (generally) classified as Seyferts, with over half (and perhaps all) having [O III] luminosities within 2 orders of magnitude of QSOs. Only ~28% of these Seyfert galaxies are visibly disturbed in optical DSS2 images. By contrast, ~94% of the same galaxies are disturbed in H I, in nearly all cases not just spatially but also kinematically on galactic (20 kpc) scales. In at least ~67% and perhaps up to ~94% of cases, the observed H I disturbances can be traced to tidal interactions with neighboring galaxies detected also in H I. The majority of these neighboring galaxies have projected separations of 100 kpc and differ in radial velocities by 100 km s–1 from their respective Seyfert galaxies, and many have optical luminosities ranging from the Small to Large Magellanic Clouds. In a companion paper we show that only ~15% of a matched control sample of inactive galaxies display comparable H I disturbances. Our results suggest that (1) most Seyfert galaxies (with high nuclear luminosities) have experienced tidal interactions in the recent past and (2) in most cases these tidal interactions are responsible for initiating events that lead to their nuclear activity.

Possible planet formation in the young, low-mass, multiple stellar system GG Tau A.

The formation of planets around binary stars may be more difficult than around single stars. In a close binary star (with a separation of less than a hundred astronomical units), theory predicts the presence of circumstellar disks around each star, and an outer circumbinary disk surrounding a gravitationally cleared inner cavity around the stars. Given that the inner disks are depleted by accretion onto the stars on timescales of a few thousand years, any replenishing material must be transferred from the outer reservoir to fuel planet formation (which occurs on timescales of about one million years). Gas flowing through disk cavities has been detected in single star systems. A circumbinary disk was discovered around the young low-mass binary system GG Tau A (ref. 7), which has recently been shown to be a hierarchical triple system. It has one large inner disk around the single star, GG Tau Aa, and shows small amounts of shocked hydrogen gas residing within the central cavity, but other than a single weak detection, the distribution of cold gas in this cavity or in any other binary or multiple star system has not hitherto been determined. Here we report imaging of gas fragments emitting radiation characteristic of carbon monoxide within the GG Tau A cavity. From the kinematics we conclude that the flow appears capable of sustaining the inner disk (around GG Tau Aa) beyond the accretion lifetime, leaving time for planet formation to occur there. These results show the complexity of planet formation around multiple stars and confirm the general picture predicted by numerical simulations.

FROM POLOIDAL TO TOROIDAL: DETECTION OF A WELL-ORDERED MAGNETIC FIELD IN THE HIGH-MASS PROTOCLUSTER G35.2–0.74 N

We report the detection of an ordered magnetic field threading a cluster-forming clump in the molecular cloud G35.2–0.74 using Submillimeter Array observations of polarized dust emission. We resolve the morphology of the magnetic field in the plane of sky and detect a great turn of 90° in the field direction: over the northern part of the clump, where a velocity gradient is evident, the magnetic field is aligned along the long axis of the clump, whereas in the southern part, where the velocity structure appears relatively uniform, the field is aligned perpendicular to the clump. Taking into account early single-disk data, we suggest that the clump forms as its parent cloud collapses more along the magnetic field. The northern part of the clump carries over angular momentum from the cloud, forming a fast rotating system, and the magnetic field is pulled into a toroidal configuration. In contrast, the southern part is not significantly rotating and retains a poloidal field. A statistical analysis of the observed polarization dispersion yields a field strength of ~1 mG. Detailed calculations support our hypothesis of a rotationally twisted magnetic field in the northern part. The observations suggest that the magnetic field may play a critical role in the formation of the dense clump, while in its further dynamical evolution, rotation and turbulence can also be important. In addition, our observations provide evidence for a wide-angle outflow driven from a strongly rotating region whose magnetic field is largely toroidal.

MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH MAPS FOR MOLECULAR CLOUDS: A NEW METHOD BASED ON A POLARIZATION-INTENSITY GRADIENT RELATION

Dust polarization orientations in molecular clouds often tend to be close to tangential to the Stokes I dust continuum emission contours. The magnetic field and the emission gradient orientations, therefore, show some correlation. A method is proposed, which—in the framework of ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)—connects the measured angle between magnetic field and emission gradient orientations to the total field strength. The approach is based on the assumption that a change in emission intensity (gradient) is a measure for the resulting direction of motion in the MHD force equation. In particular, this new method leads to maps of position-dependent magnetic field strength estimates. When evaluating the field curvature and the gravity direction locally on a map, the method can be generalized to arbitrary cloud shapes. The technique is applied to high-resolution (~07) Submillimeter Array polarization data of the collapsing core W51 e2. A tentative ~7.7 mG field strength is found when averaging over the entire core. The analysis further reveals some structures and an azimuthally averaged radial profile ~r –1/2 for the field strength. Maximum values close to the center are around 19 mG. The currently available observations lack higher resolution data to probe the innermost part of the core where the largest field strength is expected from the method. Application regime and limitations of the method are discussed. As a further important outcome of this technique, the local significance of the magnetic field force compared to the other forces can be quantified in a model-independent way, from measured angles only. Finally, the method can potentially also be expanded and applied to other objects (besides molecular clouds) with measurements that reveal the field morphology, as, e.g., Faraday rotation measurements in galaxies.

Surface geometry of protoplanetary disks inferred from near-infrared imaging polarimetry

We present a new method of analysis for determining the surface geometry of five protoplanetary disks observed with near-infrared imaging polarimetry using Subaru-HiCIAO. Using as inputs the observed distribution of polarized intensity (PI), disk inclination, assumed properties for dust scattering, and other reasonable approximations, we calculate a differential equation to derive the surface geometry. This equation is numerically integrated along the distance from the star at a given position angle. We show that, using these approximations, the local maxima in the PI distribution of spiral arms (SAO 206462, MWC 758) and rings (2MASS J16042165-2130284, PDS 70) are associated with local concave-up structures on the disk surface. We also show that the observed presence of an inner gap in scattered light still allows the possibility of a disk surface that is parallel to the light path from the star, or a disk that is shadowed by structures in the inner radii. Our analysis for rings does not show the presence of a vertical inner wall as often assumed in studies of disks with an inner gap. Finally, we summarize the implications of spiral and ring structures as potential signatures of ongoing planet formation.

MAGNETIC FIELD PROPERTIES IN HIGH-MASS STAR FORMATION FROM LARGE TO SMALL SCALES: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS FROM POLARIZATION DATA

Polarization data from high-mass star formation regions (W51 e2/e8, Orion BN/KL) are used to derive statistical properties of the plane of sky projected magnetic field. Structure function and auto-correlation function are calculated for observations with various resolutions from the BIMA and SMA interferometers, covering a range in physical scales from ~70 mpc to ~2.1 mpc. Results for the magnetic field turbulent dispersion, its turbulent-to-mean field strength ratio, and the large-scale polarization angle correlation length are presented as a function of the physical scale at the star formation sites. Power-law scaling relations emerge for some of these physical quantities. The turbulent-to-mean field strength ratio is found to be close to constant over the sampled observing range, with a hint of a decrease toward smaller scales, indicating that the role of the magnetic field and turbulence is evolving with the physical scale. A statistical method is proposed to separate large- and small-scale correlations from an initial ensemble of polarization segments. This also leads to a definition of a turbulent polarization angle correlation length.

Submillimeter Array Observations of Magnetic Fields in G240.31+0.07: An Hourglass in a Massive Cluster-forming Core

We report the first detection of an hourglass magnetic field aligned with a well-defined outflow-rotation system in a high-mass star-forming region. The observations were performed with Submillimeter Array toward G240.31+0.07, which harbors a massive, flattened, and fragmenting molecular cloud core and a wide-angle bipolar outflow. The polarized dust emission at 0.88 mm reveals a clear hourglass-shaped magnetic field aligned within 20 degree of the outflow axis. Maps of high-density tracing spectral lines, e.g., H13CO+ (4-3), show that the core is rotating about its minor axis, which is also aligned with the magnetic field axis. Therefore, both the magnetic field and kinematic properties observed in this region are surprisingly consistent with the theoretical predictions of the classic paradigm of isolated low-mass star formation. The strength of the magnetic field in the plane of sky is estimated to be about 1.1 mG, resulting in a mass-to-magnetic flux ratio of 1.4 times the critical value and a turbulent to ordered magnetic energy ratio of 0.4. We also find that the specific angular momentum almost linearly decreases from r~0.6 pc to 0.03 pc scales, which is most likely attributed to magnetic braking.