Gravity and rotation drag the magnetic field in high-mass star formation

TL;DR

This study shows that in high-mass star formation, gravity and rotation primarily influence magnetic field structures, with magnetic fields being dragged and shaped by gravitational contraction and rotational dynamics.

Contribution

It provides observational evidence that gravity and rotation dominate magnetic field morphology in high-mass star-forming regions, highlighting the interplay between gravity, rotation, and magnetic fields.

Findings

Magnetic fields are shaped by gravitational contraction toward the core.

Outer magnetic fields point toward the gravitational center.

Inner regions show rotationally dominated magnetic field structures.

Abstract

The formation of hot stars out of the cold interstellar medium lies at the heart of astrophysical research. Understanding the importance of magnetic fields during star formation remains a major challenge. With the advent of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, the potential to study magnetic fields by polarization observations has tremendously progressed. However, the major question remains how much magnetic fields shape the star formation process or whether gravity is largely dominating. Here, we show that for the high-mass star-forming region G327.3 the magnetic field morphology appears to be dominantly shaped by the gravitational contraction of the central massive gas core where the star formation proceeds. We find that in the outer parts of the region, the magnetic field is directed toward the gravitational center of the region. Filamentary structures feeding the central core exhibit U-shaped magnetic field morphologies directed toward the gravitational center as well, again showing the gravitational drag toward the center. The inner part then shows rotational signatures, potentially associated with an embedded disk, and there the magnetic field morphology appears to be rotationally dominated. Hence, our results demonstrate that for this region gravity and rotation are dominating the dynamics and shaping the magnetic field morphology.