Large-scale magnetic field in the Monoceros OB 1 east molecular cloud

Context. The role of large-scale magnetic fields in the evolution of star-forming regions remains elusive. Its investigation requires the observational characterization of well-constrained molecular clouds. The Monoceros OB 1 molecular cloud is a large complex containing several structures that have been shown to be engaged in an active interaction and to have a rich star formation history. However, the magnetic fields in this region have only been studied on small scales. Aims. We study the large-scale magnetic field structure and its interplay with the gas dynamics in the Monoceros OB 1 east molecular cloud. Methods. We combined observations of dust polarized emission from the Planck telescope and CO molecular line emission observations from the Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory 14-metre telescope. We calculated the strength of the plane-of-sky magnetic field using a modified Chandrasekhar-Fermi method and estimated the mass-over-flux ratios in different regions of the cloud. We used the comparison of the velocity and intensity gradients of the molecular line observations with the polarimetric observations to trace dynamically active regions. Results. The molecular complex shows an ordered large-scale plane-of-sky magnetic field structure. In the northern part, it is mostly orientated along the filamentary structures, while the southern part shows at least two regions with distinct magnetic field orientations. Our analysis reveals a shock region in the northern part right between two filamentary clouds that, in previous studies, were suggested to be involved in a collision. The magnetic properties of the north-main and north-eastern filaments suggest that these filaments once formed a single one, and that the magnetic field evolved together with the material and did not undergo major changes during the evolution of the cloud. In the southern part, we find that either the magnetic field guides the accretion of interstellar matter towards the cloud or it is dragged by the matter falling towards the main cloud. Conclusions. The large-scale magnetic field in the Monoceros OB 1 east molecular cloud is tightly connected to the global structure of the complex. In the northern part, it seems to serve a dynamically important role by possibly providing support against gravity in the direction perpendicular to the field and to the filament. In the southern part, it is probably the most influential factor governing the morphological structure by guiding possible gas inflow. A study of the whole Monoceros OB 1 molecular complex at large scales is necessary to form a global picture of the formation and evolution of the Monoceros OB 1 east cloud and the role of the magnetic field in this process.Peer reviewe

Planck pre-launch status: HFI beam expectations from the optical optimisation of the focal plane

Planck is a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite, launched in May 2009, which will map the cosmic microwave background anisotropies in intensity and polarisation with unprecedented detail and sensitivity. It will also provide full-sky maps of astrophysical foregrounds. An accurate knowledge of the telescope beam patterns is an essential element for a correct analysis of the acquired astrophysical data. We present a detailed description of the optical design of the High Frequency Instrument (HFI) together with some of the optical performances measured during the calibration campaigns. We report on the evolution of the knowledge of the pre-launch HFI beam patterns when coupled to ideal telescope elements, and on their significance for the HFI data analysis procedure

Matching dust emission structures and magnetic field in high-latitude cloud L1642 : comparing Herschel and Planck maps

The nearby cloud L1642 is one of only two known very high latitude (b| > 30 deg) clouds actively forming stars. It is a rare example of star formation in isolated conditions, and can reveal important details of star formation in general, e.g. of the effect of magnetic fields. We compareHerschel dust emission structures and magnetic field orientation revealed byPlanck polarization maps in L1642. The high-resolution (similar to 20 arcsec)Herschel data reveal a complex structure including a dense, compressed central clump, and low-density striations. ThePlanck polarization data (at 10 arcmin resolution) reveal an ordered magnetic field pervading the cloud and aligned with the surrounding striations. There is a complex interplay between the cloud structure and large-scale magnetic field. This suggests that the magnetic field is closely linked to the formation and evolution of the cloud. CO rotational emission confirms that the striations are connected with the main clumps and likely to contain material either falling into or flowing out of the clumps. There is a clear transition from aligned to perpendicular structures approximately at a column density ofN(H) = 1.6 x 10(21) cm(-2). Comparing theHerschel maps with thePlanck polarization maps shows the close connection between the magnetic field and cloud structure even in the finest details of the cloud.Peer reviewe

Evidence for dust evolution within the Taurus Complex from Spitzer images

We present Spitzer images of the Taurus Complex (TC) and take advantage of the sensitivity and spatial resolution of the observations to characterize the diffuse IR emission across the cloud. This work highlights evidence of dust evolution within the translucent sections of the archetype reference for studies of quiescent molecular clouds. We combine Spitzer 160 um and IRAS 100 um observations to produce a dust temperature map and a far-IR dust opacity map at 5' resolution. The average dust temperature is about 14.5K with a dispersion of +/-1K across the cloud. The far-IR dust opacity is a factor 2 larger than the average value for the diffuse ISM. This opacity increase and the attenuation of the radiation field (RF) both contribute to account for the lower emission temperature of the large grains. The structure of the TC significantly changes in the mid-IR images that trace emission from PAHs and VSGs. We focus our analysis of the mid-IR emission to a range of ecliptic latitudes where the zodiacal light residuals are small. Within this cloud area, there are no 8 and 24 um counterparts to the brightest 160 um emission features. Conversely, the 8 and 24 um images reveal filamentary structure that is strikingly inconspicuous in the 160 um and extinction maps. The IR colors vary over sub-parsec distances across this filamentary structure. We compare the observed colors with model calculations quantifying the impact of the RF intensity and the abundance of stochastically heated particles on the dust SED. To match the range of observed colors, we have to invoke variations by a factor of a few of both the interstellar RF and the abundance of PAHs and VSGs. We conclude that within this filamentary structure a significant fraction of the dust mass cycles in and out the small size end of the dust size distribution.Comment: 43 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Submillimeter dust emission of the M17 complex measured with PRONAOS

We map a 50' x 30' area in and around the M17 molecular complex with the French submillimeter balloon-borne telescope PRONAOS, in order to better understand the thermal emission of cosmic dust and the structure of the interstellar medium. The PRONAOS-SPM instrument has an angular resolution of about 3', corresponding to a size of 2 pc at the distance of this complex, and a high sensitivity up to 0.8 MJy/sr. The observations are made in four wide submillimeter bands corresponding to effective wavelengths of 200, 260, 360 and 580 um. Using an improved map-making method for PRONAOS data, we map the M17 complex and faint condensations near the dense warm core. We derive maps of both the dust temperature and the spectral index, which vary over a wide range, from about 10 K to 100 K for the temperature and from about 1 to 2.5 for the spectral index. We show that these parameters are anticorrelated, the cold areas (10-20 K) having a spectral index around 2, whereas the warm areas have a spectral index between 1 and 1.5. We discuss possible causes of this effect, and we propose an explanation involving intrinsic variations of the grain properties. Indeed, to match the observed spectra with two dust components having a spectral index equal to 2 leads to very large and unlikely amounts of cold dust. We also give estimates of the column densities and masses of the studied clumps. Three cold clumps (14-17 K) could be gravitationally unstable.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, accepted June 2002 in Astronomy & Astrophysic

First detection of NH3 (1,0 - 0,0) from a low mass cloud core: On the low ammonia abundance of the rho Oph A core

Odin has successfully observed the molecular core rho Oph A in the 572.5 GHz rotational ground state line of ammonia, NH3 (J,K = 1,0 - 0,0). The interpretation of this result makes use of complementary molecular line data obtained from the ground (C17O and CH3OH) as part of the Odin preparatory work. Comparison of these observations with theoretical model calculations of line excitation and transfer yields a quite ordinary abundance of methanol, X(CH3OH) = 3e-9. Unless NH3 is not entirely segregated from C17O and CH3OH, ammonia is found to be significantly underabundant with respect to typical dense core values, viz. X(NH3) = 8e-10.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, to appear in Astron. Astrophys. Letter

Planck-HFI focal plane concept

The future ESA space mission Planck Surveyor mission will measure the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature and polarisation anisotropies in a frequency domain comprised between 30GHz and 1THz. On board two instruments, LFI based on HEMT technology and HFI using bolometric detectors. We present the optical solutions adopted for this mission, in particular the focal plane design of HFI, concept which has been applied already to other instruments such as the balloon borne experiment Archeops

Submillimeter Emission from Water in the W3 Region

We have mapped the submillimeter emission from the 1(10)-1(01) transition of ortho-water in the W3 star-forming region. A 5'x5' map of the W3 IRS4 and W3 IRS5 region reveals strong water lines at half the positions in the map. The relative strength of the Odin lines compared to previous observations by SWAS suggests that we are seeing water emission from an extended region. Across much of the map the lines are double-peaked, with an absorption feature at -39 km/s; however, some positions in the map show a single strong line at -43 km/s. We interpret the double-peaked lines as arising from optically thick, self-absorbed water emission near the W3 IRS5, while the narrower blue-shifted lines originate in emission near W3 IRS4. In this model, the unusual appearance of the spectral lines across the map results from a coincidental agreement in velocity between the emission near W3 IRS4 and the blue peak of the more complex lines near W3 IRS5. The strength of the water lines near W3 IRS4 suggests we may be seeing water emission enhanced in a photon-dominated region.Comment: Accepted to A&A Letters as part of the special Odin issue; 4 page

PLANCK-HFI : Performances of an optical concept for the cosmic microwave background anisotropies measurement

PLANCK is a project of the European Space Agency to be launched in February 2007 by an Ariane V rocket with the Herschel Space Observatory. It is designed for imaging the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the millimetre and sub-millimetre radiation over the whole sky with unprecedented sensitivity, accuracy and angular resolution using 9 frequency channels ranging between 25 and 1000 GHz. The main source at these frequencies is the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), i.e. the radiation emitted by the early universe when, about 300000 years old, ionised hydrogen recombined and became transparent from the visible to radio frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. The main goal of the PLANCK mission is to retrieve the main cosmological parameters of the Universe with accuracies of a few percent from the observation and analysis of random small contrast (10-4) features in the CMB. The angular power spectrum of the CMB anisotropies is a function of the fundamental cosmological parameters. A proper measurement of all the angular frequencies of the CMB is essential for an accurate interpretation of the data. In consequence the optical performances of Planck will directly impact the ability of retrieving theses parameters. Recent results of the Willkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) mission show that polarization information of CMB radiation is very challenging, and that the precise measurement of the CMB could completely change the knowledge we have on our universe. The focal plane assembly (FPA) of the PLANCK telescope is composed of two instruments. The High Frequency Instrument (HFI) of PLANCK is the most sensitive CMB experiment ever planned. Together with the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI), this will make a unique tool to measure the full sky and to separate various components of its spectrum. This paper describes the main performances of the HFI beams and compares results obtained with 2 different softwares: GRASP8 and an home-made software developed at the Ireland National University of Maynooth. Specials attention will be paid to polarized beams (100, 143, 217, 353 GHz) and multimoded channels (545 and 857 GHz)