Ade, P.A.R. and Aghanim, N. and Alves, M.I.R. and Arnaud, M. and Arzoumanian, D. and Ashdown, M. and Aumont, J. and Baccigalupi, C. and Banday, A.J. and Barreiro, R.B. and Bartolo, N. and Battaner, E. and Benabed, K. and Benoit, A. and Benoit-Lévy, A. and Bernard, J.-P. and Bersanelli, M. and Bielewicz, P. and Bock, J.J. and Bonavera, L. and Bond, J.R. and Borrill, J. and Bouchet, F.R. and Boulanger, F. and Bracco, A. and Burigana, C. and Calabrese, E. and Cardoso, J.-F. and Catalano, A. and Chiang, H.C. and Christensen, P.R. and Colombo, L.P.L. and Combet, C. and Couchot, F. and Crill, B.P. and Curto, A. and Cuttaia, F. and Danese, L. and Davies, R.D. and Davis, R.J. and De Bernardis, P. and de Rosa, A. and de Zotti, G. and Delabrouille, J. and Dickinson, C. and Diego, J.M. and Dole, H. and Donzelli, S. and Dore, O. and Douspis, M. and Ducout, A. and Dupac, X. and Efstathiou, G. and Elsner, F. and Enßlin, T.A. and Eriksen, H.K. and Falceta-Gonçalves, D. and Falgarone, E. and Ferrière, K. and Finelli, F. and Forni, O. and Frailis, M. and Fraisse, A.A. and Franceschi, E. and Frejsel, A. and Galeotta, S. and Galli, S. and Ganga, K. and Ghosh, T. and Giard, M. and Gjerløw, E. and Gonzalez-Nuevo, J. and Gorski, K.M. and Gregorio, A. and Gruppuso, A. and Gudmundsson, J.E. and Guillet, V. and Harrison, D. and Helou, G. and Hennebelle, P. and Henrot-Versille, S. and Hernandez-Monteagudo, C. and Herranz, D. and Hildebrandt, S.R. and Hivon, E. and Holmes, W.A. and Hornstrup, A. and Huffenberger, K.M. and Hurier, G. and Jaffe, A.H. and Jaffe, T.R. and Jones, W.C. and Juvela, M. and Keihanen, E. and Keskitalo, R. and Kisner, T.S. and Knoche, J. and Kunz, M. and Kurki-Suonio, H. and Lagache, G. and Lamarre, J.-M. and Lasenby, A. and Lattanzi, M. and Lawrence, C.R. and Leonardi, R. and Levrier, F. and Liguori, M. and Lilje, P.B. and Linden-Vornle, M. and Lopez-Caniego, M. and Lubin, P.M. and Macias-Perez, J.F. and Maino, D. and Mandolesi, N. and Mangilli, A. and Maris, M. and Martin, P.G. and Martinez-Gonzalez, E. and Masi, S. and Matarrese, S. and Melchiorri, A. and Mendes, L. and Mennella, A. and Migliaccio, M. and Miville-Deschenes, M.-A. and Moneti, A. and Montier, L. and Morgante, G. and Mortlock, D. and Munshi, D. and Murphy, J.Anthony and Naselsky, P. and Nati, F. and Netterfield, C.B. and Noviello, F. and Novikov, D. and Novikov, I. and Oppermann, N. and Oxborrow, C.A. and Pagano, L. and Pajot, F. and Paladini, R. and Paoletti, D. and Pasian, F. and Perotto, L. and Pettorino, V. and Piacentini, F. and Piat, M. and Pierpaoli, E. and Pietrobon, D. and Plaszczynski, S. and Pointecouteau, E. and Polenta, G. and Ponthieu, N. and Pratt, G.W. and Prunet, S. and Puget, J.-L. and Rachen, J.P. and Reinecke, M. and Remazeilles, M. and Renault, C. and Renzi, A. and Ristorcelli, I. and Rocha, G. and Rossetti, M. and Roudier, G. and Rubino-Martin, J.A. and Rusholme, B. and Sandri, M. and Santos, D. and Savelainen, M. and Savini, G. and Scott, D. and Soler, J.D. and Stolyarov, V. and Sudiwala, R. and Sutton, D. and Suur-Uski, A.-S. and Sygnet, J.-F. and Tauber, J.A. and Terenzi, L. and Toffolatti, L. and Tomasi, M. and Tristram, M. and Tucci, M. and Umana, G. and Valenziano, L. and Valiviita, J. and Van Tent, B. and Vielva, P. and Villa, F. and Wade, L.A. and Wandelt, B.D. and Wehus, I. and Ysard, N. and Yvon, D. and Zonca, A. (2016) Planck intermediate results XXXV. Probing the role of the magnetic field in the formation of structure in molecular clouds. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 586 (A138). ISSN 0004-6361

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Abstract

Within ten nearby (d <  450 pc) Gould belt molecular clouds we evaluate statistically the relative orientation between the magnetic field projected on the plane of sky, inferred from the polarized thermal emission of Galactic dust observed by Planck at 353 GHz, and the gas column density structures, quantified by the gradient of the column density, NH. The selected regions, covering several degrees in size, are analysed at an effective angular resolution of 10′ FWHM, thus sampling physical scales from 0.4 to 40 pc in the nearest cloud. The column densities in the selected regions range from NH≈ 1021 to1023 cm-2, and hence they correspond to the bulk of the molecular clouds. The relative orientation is evaluated pixel by pixel and analysed in bins of column density using the novel statistical tool called “histogram of relative orientations”. Throughout this study, we assume that the polarized emission observed by Planck at 353 GHz is representative of the projected morphology of the magnetic field in each region, i.e., we assume a constant dust grain alignment efficiency, independent of the local environment. Within most clouds we find that the relative orientation changes progressively with increasing NH, from mostly parallel or having no preferred orientation to mostly perpendicular. In simulations of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in molecular clouds this trend in relative orientation is a signature of Alfvénic or sub-Alfvénic turbulence, implying that the magnetic field is significant for the gas dynamics at the scales probed by Planck. We compare the deduced magnetic field strength with estimates we obtain from other methods and discuss the implications of the Planck observations for the general picture of molecular cloud formation and evolution.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Planck Collaboration; ISM: general; ISM: magnetic fields; ISM: clouds; dust, extinction; submillimeter: ISM; infrared: ISM;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Experimental Physics
Item ID:	14448
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201525896
Depositing User:	Dr. Anthony Murphy
Date Deposited:	20 May 2021 16:25
Journal or Publication Title:	Astronomy & Astrophysics
Publisher:	EDP Sciences
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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