Magnetic field regulated infall on the disc around the massive protostar Cepheus A HW2

TL;DR

This study uses polarization observations of methanol masers to map the magnetic field around the massive protostar Cepheus A HW2, revealing its role in regulating accretion and stabilizing the circumstellar disc.

Contribution

It provides the first three-dimensional magnetic field structure around a massive protostar using maser polarization data, highlighting magnetic regulation of accretion.

Findings

Magnetic field is aligned with the outflow and perpendicular to the disc.

Magnetic field strength is approximately 23 mG at 1000 AU.

Magnetic field is slightly supercritical, supporting collapse along field lines.

Abstract

We present polarization observations of the 6.7-GHz methanol masers around the massive protostar Cepheus A HW2 and its associated disc. The data were taken with the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network. The maser polarization is used to determine the full three-dimensional magnetic field structure around Cepheus A HW2. The observations suggest that the masers probe the large scale magnetic field and not isolated pockets of a compressed field. We find that the magnetic field is predominantly aligned along the protostellar outflow and perpendicular to the molecular and dust disc. From the three-dimensional magnetic field orientation and measurements of the magnetic field strength along the line of sight, we are able to determine that the high density material, in which the masers occurs, is threaded by a large scale magnetic field of ~23 mG. This indicates that the protostellar environment at ~1000 AU from Cepheus A HW2 is slightly supercritical (lambda approximately 1.7) and the relation between density and magnetic field is consistent with collapse along the magnetic field lines. Thus, the observations indicate that the magnetic field likely regulates accretion onto the disc. The magnetic field dominates the turbulent energies by approximately a factor of three and is sufficiently strong to be the crucial component stabilizing the massive accretion disc and sustaining the high accretion rates needed during massive star-formation.