Related papers: The alignment of molecular cloud magnetic fields w…
The question whether magnetic fields play an important role in the processes of molecular cloud and star formation has been debated for decades. Recent observations have revealed a simple picture that may help illuminate these questions:…
Molecular clouds are sites of star formation. Magnetic fields are believed to play an important role in their dynamics and shaping morphology. We aim to study any possible correlation that might exist between the magnetic fields orientation…
During the past decade the dynamical importance of magnetic fields in molecular clouds has been increasingly recognized, as observational evidence has accumulated. However, how a magnetic field affect star formation is still unclear.…
Most molecular clouds are filamentary or elongated. Among those forming low-mass stars, their long axes tend to be either parallel or perpendicular to the large-scale (10-100 pc) magnetic field (B-field) in the surrounding inter cloud…
One of the key problems in star formation research is to determine the role of magnetic fields. Starting from the atomic inter-cloud medium (ICM) which has density nH ~ 1 per cubic cm, gas must accumulate from a volume several hundred pc…
The orientations of filamentary molecular clouds in the Gould Belt and their local ICM (inter-cloud media) magnetic fields are studied using near-infrared dust extinction maps and optical stellar polarimetry data. These filamentary clouds…
By comparing cumulative linear mass profiles of 12 Gould Belt molecular clouds within 500 pc, we study how the linear mass distributions of molecular clouds vary with the angles between the molecular cloud long axes and the directions of…
To investigate how molecular clouds react to different environmental conditions at a galactic scale, we present a catalogue of giant molecular clouds resolved down to masses of $\sim 10$~M$_{\odot}$ from a simulation of the entire disc of…
The Zeeman effect and dust grain alignment are two major methods for probing magnetic fields (B-fields) in molecular clouds, largely motivated by the study of star formation, as the B-field may regulate gravitational contraction and channel…
The role played by magnetic field during star formation is an important topic in astrophysics. We investigate the correlation between the orientation of star-forming cores (as defined by the core major axes) and ambient magnetic field…
Observations indicate that molecular clouds are strongly magnetized, and that magnetic fields influence the formation of stars. A key observation supporting the conclusion that molecular clouds are significantly magnetized is that the…
Magnetic field is believed to play an important role in the collapse of a molecular cloud. In particular, due to the properties of magnetic forces, collapse should be easier along magnetic field lines, as supported by the large-scale…
Magnetic fields constitute an energetic component of the interstellar medium in galaxies and hence can affect the formation of galactic structures. Sensitive resolved radio continuum observations together with statistical studies in galaxy…
Observations of magnetic field strengths imply that molecular cloud fragments are individually close to being in a magnetically critical state, even though both magnetic field and column density measurements range over two orders of…
We investigate the impact of galactic environment on the properties of simulated giant molecular clouds formed in a M83-type barred spiral galaxy. Our simulation uses a rotating stellar potential to create the grand design features and…
The dynamical processes that control star formation in molecular clouds are not well understood, and in particular, it is unclear if rotation plays a major role in cloud evolution. We investigate the importance of rotation in cloud…
The magnetic field of molecular clouds (MCs) plays an important role in the process of star formation: it determins the statistical properties of supersonic turbulence that controls the fragmentation of MCs, controls the angular momentum…
Magnetic fields are believed to play an important role in the evolution of molecular clouds, from their large scale structure to dense cores, protostellar envelopes, and protoplanetary disks. How important is unclear, and whether magnetic…
We present a set of numerical simulations addressing the effects of magnetic field strength and orientation on the flow-driven formation of molecular clouds. Fields perpendicular to the flows sweeping up the cloud can efficiently prevent…
Magnetic fields are dynamically important in the diffuse interstellar medium. Understanding how gravitationally bound, star-forming clouds form requires modeling of the fields in a self-consistent, supernova-driven, turbulent, magnetized,…