The Rotation Dip in the Envelope-Disk Transition of HH 111: Evidence for Magnetic Braking

TL;DR

This study uses ALMA observations and simulations to analyze the envelope-disk transition in HH 111, revealing a rotation dip caused by magnetic braking effects during star formation.

Contribution

It provides detailed observational evidence and interpretation of magnetic braking effects in the envelope-disk transition of HH 111, supported by ALMA data and MHD simulations.

Findings

Identification of a rotation dip in the transition region

Magnetic tension and braking influence gas motion

Inner region shows Keplerian rotation with reduced magnetic braking

Abstract

Magnetic braking can drive angular momentum loss in star formation and influence disk evolution. A previous study of HH 111 VLA1 suggested a decrease in rotation velocity in a region between the infalling envelope and rotating disk. Using ALMA C$^{18}$O ($J = 2-1$) data, we analyzed the gas motion within 6000 au and found clear deviations from the simplest expectations of free-fall towards the central star with conserved angular momentum in the transition region between the envelope and disk (from $\sim$5200 to 160 au). The region can be further divided into three zones: (1) outer region with a significant decrease in infall velocity, dropping to approximately 60\% of the free-fall velocity and 70\% of conservation of angular momentum and energy; (2) middle region with a sharp drop in angular momentum and thus rotation velocity and an increase in infall velocity; and (3) inner region with rotation velocity increasing inward to connect to that of the Keplerian disk and infall velocity decreasing to zero. Comparison with non-ideal MHD simulations suggests that the reduced infall velocity in the outer region can be due to magnetic tension by the pinched magnetic field lines, the sharp drop of angular momentum in the middle region can be due to magnetic braking as the field lines pile up, and the rapid increase in rotation velocity in the inner region might result from weaker magnetic braking due to ambipolar diffusion of the field lines. The resulting dip in the rotation profile supports magnetic braking.