58 research outputs found
EVLA Observations of OH Masers in ON 1
This Letter reports on initial Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) observations
of the 6035 MHz masers in ON 1. The EVLA data are of good quality, lending
confidence in the new receiver system. Nineteen maser features, including six
Zeeman pairs, are detected. The overall distribution of 6035 MHz OH masers is
similar to that of the 1665 MHz OH masers. The spatial resolution is sufficient
to unambiguously determine that the magnetic field is strong (~ -10 mG) at the
location of the blueshifted masers in the north, consistent with Zeeman
splitting detected in 13441 MHz OH masers in the same velocity range. Left and
right circularly polarized ground-state features dominate in different regions
in the north of the source, which may be due to a combination of magnetic field
and velocity gradients. The combined distribution of all OH masers toward the
south is suggestive of a shock structure of the sort previously seen in W3(OH).Comment: 4 pages using emulateapj.cls including 2 tables and 2 color figure
Magnetic field measurements at milliarcsecond resolution around massive young stellar objects
Magnetic fields have only recently been included in theoretical simulations
of high-mass star formation. The simulations show that magnetic fields can play
a crucial role not only in the formation and dynamics of molecular outflows,
but also in the evolution of circumstellar disks. Therefore, new measurements
of magnetic fields at milliarcsecond resolution close to massive young stellar
objects (YSOs) are fundamental for providing new input for numerical
simulations and for understanding the formation process of massive stars. The
polarized emission of 6.7 GHz CH3OH masers allows us to investigate the
magnetic field close to the massive YSO where the outflows and disks are
formed. Recently, we have detected with the EVN CH3OH maser polarized emission
towards 10 massive YSOs. From a first statistical analysis we have found
evidence that magnetic fields are primarily oriented along the molecular
outflows. To improve our statistics we are carrying on a large observational
EVN campaign for a total of 19 sources, the preliminary results of the first
seven sources are presented in this contribution. Furthermore, we also describe
our efforts to estimate the Lande' g-factors of the CH3OH maser transition to
determine the magnetic field strength from our Zeeman-splitting measurements.Comment: Accepted for publication in the proceeding of the "12th European VLBI
Network Symposium and Users Meeting", eds Tarchi et al. PoS(EVN 2014)04
The magnetic field at milliarcsecond resolution around IRAS20126+4104
IRAS20126+4104 is a well studied B0.5 protostar that is surrounded by a ~1000
au Keplerian disk and is where a large-scale outflow originates. Both 6.7-GHz
CH3OH masers and 22-GHz H2O masers have been detected toward this young stellar
object. The CH3OH masers trace the Keplerian disk, while the H2O masers are
associated with the surface of the conical jet. Recently, observations of dust
polarized emission (350 um) at an angular resolution of 9 arcseconds (~15000
au) have revealed an S-shaped morphology of the magnetic field around
IRAS20126+4104. The observations of polarized maser emissions at milliarcsecond
resolution (~20 au) can make a crucial contribution to understanding the
orientation of the magnetic field close to IRAS20126+4104. This will allow us
to determine whether the magnetic field morphology changes from arcsecond
resolution to milliarcsecond resolution. The European VLBI Network was used to
measure the linear polarization and the Zeeman splitting of the 6.7-GHz CH3OH
masers toward IRAS20126+4104. The NRAO Very Long Baseline Array was used to
measure the linear polarization and the Zeeman splitting of the 22-GHz H2O
masers toward the same region. We detected 26 CH3OH masers and 5 H2O masers at
high angular resolution. Linear polarization emission was observed toward three
CH3OH masers and toward one H2O maser. Significant Zeeman splitting was
measured in one CH3OH maser (\Delta V_{Z}=-9.2 +/- 1.4 m/s). No significant (5
sigma) magnetic field strength was measured using the H2O masers. We found that
in IRAS20126+4104 the rotational energy is less than the magnetic energy.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
The structure of the magnetic field in the massive star-forming region W75N
A debated topic in star formation theory is the role of magnetic fields
during the protostellar phase of high-mass stars. It is still unclear how
magnetic fields influence the formation and dynamics of massive disks and
outflows. Most current information on magnetic fields close to high-mass
protostars comes from polarized maser emissions, which allows us to investigate
the magnetic field on small scales by using very long-baseline interferometry.
The massive star-forming region W75N contains three radio continuum sources
(VLA1, VLA2, and VLA3), at three different evolutionary stages, and associated
masers, while a large-scale molecular bipolar outflow is also present. Very
recently, polarization observations of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers at
milliarsecond resolution have been able to probe the strength and structure of
the magnetic field over more than 2000 AU around VLA1. The magnetic field is
parallel to the outflow, suggesting that VLA1 is its powering source. The
observations of water masers at 22 GHz can give more information about the gas
dynamics and the magnetic fields around VLA1 and VLA2. The NRAO Very Long
Baseline Array was used to measure the linear polarization and the
Zeeman-splitting of the 22 GHz water masers in the star-forming region W75N. We
detected 124 water masers, 36 around VLA1 and 88 around VLA2 of W75N, which
indicate two different physical environments around the two sources, where VLA1
is in a more evolved state. The linear polarization of the masers confirms the
tightly ordered magnetic field around VLA1, which is aligned with the
large-scale molecular outflow, and also reveals an ordered magnetic field
around VLA2, which is not parallel to the outflow. [abridged]Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 2 Tables, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
Methanol masers probing the ordered magnetic field of W75N
The role of magnetic fields during the protostellar phase of high-mass
star-formation is a debated topic. In particular, it is still unclear how
magnetic fields influence the formation and dynamic of disks and outflows. Most
current information on magnetic fields close to high-mass protostars comes from
H2O and OH maser observations. Recently, the first 6.7 GHz methanol maser
polarization observations were made, and they reveal strong and ordered
magnetic fields. The morphology of the magnetic field during high-mass
star-formation needs to be investigated on small scales, which can only be done
using very long baseline interferometry observations. The massive star-forming
regionW75N contains three radio sources and associated masers, while a
large-scale molecular bipolar outflow is also present. Polarization
observations of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers at high angular resolution probe
the strength and structure of the magnetic field and determine its relation to
the outflow. Eight of the European VLBI network antennas were used to measure
the linear polarization and Zeeman-splitting of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers in
the star-forming region W75N. We detected 10 methanol maser features, 4 of
which were undetected in previous work. All arise near the source VLA1 of W75N.
The linear polarization of the masers reveals a tightly ordered magnetic field
over more than 2000 AU around VLA1 that is exactly aligned with the large-scale
molecular outflow. This is consistent with the twisted magnetic field model
proposed for explaining dust polarization observations. The Zeeman-splitting
measured on 3 of the maser features indicates a dynamically important magnetic
field in the maser region of the order of 50mG. We suggest VLA1 is the powering
sources of the bipolar outflow.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysic
EVN observations of 6.7 GHz methanol maser polarization in massive star-forming regions III. The flux-limited sample
Theoretical simulations and observations at different angular resolutions
have shown that magnetic fields have a central role in massive star formation.
Like in low-mass star formation, the magnetic field in massive young stellar
objects can either be oriented along the outflow axis or randomly. Measuring
the magnetic field at milliarcsecond resolution (10-100 au) around a
substantial number of massive young stellar objects permits determining with a
high statistical significance whether the direction of the magnetic field is
correlated with the orientation of the outflow axis or not. In late 2012, we
started a large VLBI campaign with the European VLBI Network to measure the
linearly and circularly polarized emission of 6.7 GHz methanol masers around a
sample of massive star-forming regions. This paper focuses on the first seven
observed sources, G24.78+0.08, G25.65+1.05, G29.86-0.04, G35.03+0.35,
G37.43+1.51, G174.20-0.08, and G213.70-12.6. For all these sources, molecular
outflows have been detected in the past. We detected a total of 176 methanol
masing cloudlets toward the seven massive star-forming regions, 19% of which
show linearly polarized emission. The methanol masers around the massive young
stellar object MM1 in G174.20-0.08 show neither linearly nor circularly
polarized emission. The linear polarization vectors are well ordered in all the
other massive young stellar objects. We measured significant Zeeman splitting
toward both A1 and A2 in G24.78+0.08, and toward G29.86-0.04 and G213.70-12.6.
By considering all the 19 massive young stellar objects reported in the
literature for which both the orientation of the magnetic field at
milliarcsecond resolution and the orientation of outflow axes are known, we
find evidence that the magnetic field (on scales 10-100 au) is preferentially
oriented along the outflow axes.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, 9 tables, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics.
arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1306.633
EVN observations of 6.7-GHz methanol maser polarization in massive star-forming regions II. First statistical results
Magnetic fields have only recently been included in theoretical simulations
of high-mass star formation. The simulations show that magnetic fields play an
important role in the formation and dynamics of molecular outflows. Masers, in
particular 6.7-GHz CH3OH masers, are the best probes of the magnetic field
morphologies around massive young stellar objects on the smallest scales of
10-100 AU. This paper focuses on 4 massive young stellar objects,
IRAS06058+2138-NIRS1, IRAS22272+6358A, S255-IR, and S231, which complement our
previous 2012 sample (the first EVN group). From all these sources, molecular
outflows have been detected in the past. Seven of the European VLBI Network
antennas were used to measure the linear polarization and Zeeman-splitting of
the 6.7-GHz CH3OH masers in the star-forming regions in this second EVN group.
We detected a total of 128 CH3OH masing cloudlets. Fractional linear
polarization (0.8%-11.3%) was detected towards 18% of the CH3OH masers in our
sample. The linear polarization vectors are well ordered in all the massive
young stellar objects. We measured significant Zeeman-splitting in
IRAS06058+2138-NIRS1 (DVz=3.8+/-0.6 m/s) and S255-IR (DVz=3.2+/-0.7 m/s). By
considering the 20 massive young stellar objects towards which the morphology
of magnetic fields was determined by observing 6.7-GHz CH3OH masers in both
hemispheres, we find no evident correlation between the linear distributions of
CH3OH masers and the outflows or the linear polarization vectors. On the other
hand, we present first statistical evidence that the magnetic field (on scales
10-100 AU) is primarily oriented along the large-scale outflow direction.
Moreover, we empirically find that the linear polarization fraction of
unsaturated CH3OH masers is P_l<4.5%.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
Magnetic shear-driven instability and turbulent mixing in magnetized protostellar disks
Observations of protostellar disks indicate the presence of the magnetic
field of thermal (or superthermal) strength. In such a strong magnetic field,
many MHD instabilities responsible for turbulent transport of the angular
momentum are suppressed. We consider the shear-driven instability that can
occur in protostellar disks even if the field is superthermal. This instability
is caused by the combined influence of shear and compressibility in a
magnetized gas and can be an efficient mechanism to generate turbulence in
disks. The typical growth time is of the order of several rotation periods.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, A&A to appea
A Survey of OH Masers Towards High Mass Protostellar Objects
We present a survey of OH maser emission towards a sample of high mass
protostellar objects made using the Nancay and GBT telescopes.OH maser emission
was detected towards 63 objects with 36 new detections. There are 56
star-forming regions and 7 OH/IR candidates. There is no evidence that sources
with OH masers have a different range of luminosities from the non-maser
sources. The results of this survey are compared with previous water and class
II methanol maser observations of the same objects. Some of the detected
sources are only associated with OH masers and some sources are only associated
with the 1720 MHz OH maser line. The velocity range of the maser emission
suggests that the water maser sources may be divided into two groups. The
detection rates and velocity range of the OH and Class II methanol masers
support the idea that there is a spatial association of the OH and Class II
methanol masers. The sources span a wide range in R, the ratio of the methanol
maser peak flux to OH 1665 MHz maser peak flux, however there are only a few
sources with intermediate values of R, 8<R<32, which has characterised previous
samples. Sources which have masers of any species, OH, water or methanol, have
redder [100um-12um] IRAS colours than those without masers. However, there is
no evidence for different maser species tracing different stages in the
evolution of these young high mass sources. Previous observations which have
shown that the OH maser emission from similar sources traces the circumstellar
disks around the objects. This combined with the sensitivity of the OH emission
to the magnetic field, make the newly detected sources interesting candidates
for future follow-up at high angular resolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Possible magnetic field variability during the 6.7 GHz methanol maser flares of G09.62+0.20
(Abridged) Recently, the magnetic field induced Zeeman splitting was measured
for the strongest known 6.7 GHz methanol maser, which arises in the massive
star forming region G09.62+0.20. This maser is one of a handful of periodically
flaring methanol masers. The 100-m Effelsberg telescope was used to monitor the
6.7 GHz methanol masers of G09.62+0.20. With the exception of a two week period
during the peak of the maser flare, we measure a constant magnetic field of
B_||~11+-2 mG in the two strongest maser components of G09.62+0.20 that are
separated by over 200 AU. In the two week period that coincides exactly with
the peak of the maser flare of the strongest maser feature, we measure a sharp
decrease and possible reversal of the Zeeman splitting. The exact cause of both
maser and polarization variability is still unclear, but it could be related to
either background amplification of polarized emission or the presence of a
massive protostar with a close-by companion. Alternatively, the polarization
variability could be caused by non-Zeeman effects related to the radiative
transfer of polarized maser emission.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication Astronomy and
Astrophysic
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