2009/11/11 by Jungmi Kwon, Minho Choi, Soojong Pak +4
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/708/1/758
published as Astrophys.J.708:758-769,2010 · To appear in the Astrophysical Journal
arxiv created 2009/11/11 · openalex publication_date 2009/12/15 · arxiv updated 2014/11/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The HH 1–2 region in the L1641 molecular cloud was observed in the near-infrared (IR) J , H , and K s bands, and imaging polarimetry was performed. Seventy-six point-like sources were detected in all three bands. The near-IR polarizations of these sources seem to be caused mostly by the dichroic extinction. Using a color–color diagram, reddened sources with little IR excess were selected to trace the magnetic field structure of the molecular cloud. The mean polarization position angle of these sources is about 111°, which is interpreted as the projected direction of the magnetic field in the observed region of the cloud. The distribution of the polarization angle has a dispersion of about 11°, which is smaller than what was measured in previous studies. This small dispersion gives a rough estimate of the strength of the magnetic field to be about 130 μG and suggests that the global magnetic field in this region is quite regular and straight. In contrast, the outflows driven by young stellar objects in this region seem to have no preferred orientation. This discrepancy suggests that the magnetic field in the L1641 molecular cloud does not dictate the orientation of the protostars forming inside.