Observations of the Goldreich-Kylafis effect in star-forming regions with XPOL at the IRAM 30 m telescope

2008/10/16 by Jan Forbrich, Helmut Wiesemeyer, H. Wiesemeyer +6
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200811056

10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

arxiv created 2008/10/16 · openalex publication_date 2008/10/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Context. The Goldreich-Kylafis (GK) effect causes certain molecular line emission to be weakly linearly polarized, e.g., in the presence of a magnetic field. Compared to polarized dust emission, the GK effect potentially yields additional information along the line of sight through its dependence on velocity in the line profile.

Citations

• Observational Constraints on the Ages of Molecular Clouds and the Star Formation Timescale: Ambipolar‐Diffusion–controlled or Turbulence‐induced Star Formation?
• Water Maser Motions in W3(OH) and a Determination of Its Distance