Magnetic fields in forming stars with the ngVLA

TL;DR

This paper discusses how the ngVLA can be used to study magnetic fields at various stages of star formation through polarization observations of dust, spectral lines, and synchrotron emissions.

Contribution

It introduces new observational strategies using the ngVLA to investigate magnetic phenomena in star formation, expanding beyond current capabilities.

Findings

Potential to map magnetic fields in protostellar cores

Detection of magnetic fields in outflows and jets

Observation of magnetospheres around low-mass stars

Abstract

The magnetic field plays an important role in every stage of the star-formation process from the collapse of the initial protostellar core to the star's arrival on the main sequence. Consequently, the goal of this science case is to explore a wide range of magnetic phenomena that can be investigated using the polarization capabilities of the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA). These include (1) magnetic fields in protostellar cores via polarized emission from aligned dust grains, including in regions optically thick at wavelengths observable by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA); (2) magnetic fields in both protostellar cores and molecular outflows via spectral-line polarization from the Zeeman and Goldreich-Kylafis effects; (3) magnetic fields in protostellar jets via polarized synchrotron emission; and (4) gyrosynchrotron emission from magnetospheres around low-mass stars.