Magnetic Field in The Isolated Massive Dense Clump IRAS 20126+4104

TL;DR

This study measures and analyzes the magnetic field structure in a high-mass star-forming dense clump, revealing the magnetic field's alignment with outflows and its influence on star formation dynamics.

Contribution

It provides observational evidence linking magnetic field morphology with star formation processes and compares these with numerical simulations to understand magnetic influence.

Findings

Magnetic field vectors align with bipolar outflows.

Rotation influences the evolution of the dense clump and magnetic field.

The magnetic field plays a critical role in early massive star formation.

Abstract

We measured polarized dust emission at 350um towards the high-mass star forming massive dense clump IRAS 20126+4104 using the SHARC II Polarimeter, SHARP, at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. Most of the observed magnetic field vectors agree well with magnetic field vectors obtained from a numerical simulation for the case when the global magnetic field lines are inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the dense clump. The results of the numerical simulation show that rotation plays an important role on the evolution of the massive dense clump and its magnetic field. The direction of the cold CO 1-0 bipolar outflow is parallel to the observed magnetic field within the dense clump as well as the global magnetic field, as inferred from optical polarimetry data, indicating that the magnetic field also plays a critical role in an early stage of massive star formation. The large-scale Keplerian disk of the massive (proto)star rotates in almost opposite sense to the clump's envelope. The observed magnetic field morphology and the counter-rotating feature of the massive dense clump system provide hints to constrain the role of magnetic fields in the process of high mass star formation.