Unveiling the role of magnetic fields in an accreting filament onto a young protocluster

TL;DR

This study investigates how magnetic fields influence the structure and dynamics of an accreting filament in a young protocluster, combining polarization observations, molecular line data, and modeling to reveal stability and gas flow characteristics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the magnetic support and kinematic behavior of a specific filament, using combined observational and modeling approaches.

Findings

The filament is stable against radial collapse.

Gas flows toward the hub, indicating accretion activity.

The filament is supported by non-thermal agents, not thermal pressure.

Abstract

In order to develop a more comprehensive picture of star formation, it is essential to understand the physical relationship between dense cores and the filaments embedding them. There is evidence that magnetic fields play a crucial role in this context. We aim to understand how magnetic fields influence the properties and kinematics of an isolated filament located east of the Barnard 59 clump, belonging to the Pipe Nebula. We use near infrared polarization observations to determine the magnetic field configuration, and we apply the Davis Chandrasekhar Fermi method to infer the magnetic field strength in the plane of the sky. Furthermore, we use complementary data from the James Clerk Maxwell Submillimetre Telescope (JCMT) of C18O and 13CO J=3-2 transition to determine the filament's kinematics. Finally, we model the radial density profile of the filament with polytropic cylindrical models. Our results indicate that the filament is stable to radial collapse and is radially supported by agents other than thermal pressure. In addition, based on previous observations of emission lines on this source, we suggest that gas is flowing toward the hub, while C18O (3-2) non-thermal motions indicate that the cloud is in a quiescent state.