Submillimeter Observations of Magnetic Fields in Massive Star-forming Region W75N

Abstract

This paper presents the results of full polarization observations of the massive star-forming region W75N, conducted with ∼3″ spatial resolutions at 345 GHz using the Submillimeter Array. The magnetic field structures in the dense cores of the region are derived using the linearly polarized continuum emission. The overall magnetic field strength and orientation are found to agree with those from the previous observations. The plane-of-sky component of the magnetic field in the region was calculated to be ∼0.8 ± 0.1 mG using the angular dispersion function method. Further analyses involving the polarization-intensity gradient-local gravity method and H ^13 CO ^+ (4–3) line data indicated that the cloud is undergoing global gravitational collapse and the magnetic field is shaped by gravity and outflows in the dense core regions.

Keywords

• Circumstellar matter
• Interstellar medium
• Magnetic fields
• Star formation