Magnetic field dragging in filamentary molecular clouds

TL;DR

This paper models how magnetic field lines are bent by gas flows in filamentary molecular clouds, linking the observed polarization patterns to the physical properties like electrical resistivity and magnetic Reynolds number.

Contribution

It introduces a steady-state model connecting magnetic field curvature with gas flow parameters, emphasizing the role of magnetic Reynolds number and resistivity mechanisms such as ambipolar diffusion.

Findings

Magnetic Reynolds numbers of a few tens fit observational data.

Ambipolar diffusion can sustain steady gas flows across magnetic fields.

The model explains polarization map features in filamentary clouds.

Abstract

Maps of polarized dust emission of molecular clouds reveal the morphology of the magnetic field associated with star-forming regions. In particular, polarization maps of hub-filament systems show the distortion of magnetic field lines induced by gas flows onto and inside filaments. We aim to understand the relation between the curvature of magnetic field lines associated with filaments in hub-filament systems and the properties of the underlying gas flows. We consider steady-state models of gas with finite electrical resistivity flowing across a transverse magnetic field. We derive the relation between the bending of the field lines and the flow parameters represented by the Alfv\'en Mach number and the magnetic Reynolds number. We find that, on the scale of the filaments, the relevant parameter for a gas of finite electrical resistivity is the magnetic Reynolds number, and we derive the relation between the deflection angle of the field from the initial direction (assumed perpendicular to the filament) and the value of the electrical resistivity, due to either Ohmic dissipation or ambipolar diffusion. Application of this model to specific observations of polarized dust emission in filamentary clouds shows that magnetic Reynolds numbers of a few tens are required to reproduce the data. Despite significant uncertainties in the observations (the flow speed, the geometry and orientation of the filament), and the idealization of the model, the specific cases considered show that ambipolar diffusion can provide the resistivity needed to maintain a steady state flow across magnetic fields of significant strength over realistic time scales.