Related papers: Magnetic Fields in Molecular Clouds -- Observation…
Magnetic and energetic properties are presented for 17 dense cores within a few hundred pc of the Sun. Their plane-of-sky field strengths are estimated from the dispersion of polarization directions, following Davis, Chandrasekhar and Fermi…
How does turbulence contribute to the formation and structure of the dense interstellar medium (ISM)? Molecular clouds are dense, high-pressure objects. It is usually argued that gravitational confinement causes the high pressures, and that…
Magnetic fields play an important role in shaping and regulating star formation in molecular clouds. Here, we present one of the first studies examining the relative orientations between magnetic ($B$) fields and the dust emission, gas…
Though flux freezing is a good approximation frequently assumed for molecular clouds, ambipolar diffusion (AD) is inevitable at certain scales. The scale at which AD sets in can be a crucial parameter for turbulence and the star formation…
The path to understanding star formation processes begins with the study of the formation of molecular clouds. The outskirts of these clouds are characterized by low column densities that allow the penetration of ultraviolet radiation,…
We review star formation in molecular clouds and describe why magnetic fields may be important and how they can influence filamentary structure and the column density probability distribution function (PDF). We also comment on the origin of…
Magnetic fields are amplified as a consequence of galaxy formation and turbulence-driven dynamos. Galaxy mergers can potentially amplify the magnetic fields from their progenitors, making the magnetic fields dynamically important. However,…
Grain alignment theory has reached the stage where quantitative predictions of the degree of alignment and its variations with optical depth are possible. With the goal of studying the effect of clumpiness on the sub-millimeter and far…
We examine the idea that diffuse and giant molecular clouds and their substructure form as density fluctuations induced by large scale interstellar turbulence. We do this by investigating the topology of various fields in realistic…
We investigate giant molecular cloud (GMCs) collisions and their ability to induce gravitational instability and thus star formation. This mechanism may be a major driver of star formation activity in galactic disks. We carry out a series…
We present a novel statistical analysis aimed at deriving the intrinsic shapes and magnetic field orientations of molecular clouds using dust emission and polarization observations by the Hertz polarimeter. Our observables are the aspect…
The presence of dust grains profoundly affects the diffusion of the magnetic field in molecular clouds. When the electrons and ions are well coupled to the magnetic field and charged grains are only indirectly coupled, emergent Hall…
The diffusion of astrophysical magnetic fields in conducting fluids in the presence of turbulence depends on whether magnetic fields can change their topology via reconnection in highly conducting media. Recent progress in understanding…
This book chapter reviews the current state of observations of magnetic fields in diffuse H I and in dense molecular clouds. It covers techniques for measuring magnetic fields, the analysis of the observations, and the role of magnetic…
We aim to better understand how the spatial structure of molecular clouds is governed by turbulence. For that, we study the large-scale spatial distribution of low density molecular gas and search for characteristic length scales. We employ…
We have mapped the magnetic field ($B$-field) for a region of about 30 pc around the centre of our Galaxy, which encompasses the circumnuclear disk (CND), the minispiral, and the 20 km s$^{-1}$ and 50 km s$^{-1}$ molecular clouds, using…
The role of turbulence in various astrophysical settings is reviewed. Among the differences to laboratory and atmospheric turbulence we highlight the ubiquitous presence of magnetic fields that are generally produced and maintained by…
Magnetic field is one of the key agents that play a crucial role in shaping molecular clouds and regulating star formation, yet the complete information on the magnetic field is not well constrained due to the limitations in observations.…
We develop a theory for filamentary molecular clouds including the effects of ordered magnetic fields, and external pressure. We first derive a form of the virial equation appropriate for filamentary clouds. By comparing with observational…
New visible and K-band polarization measurements on stars surrounding molecular clouds in Orion A and stars in the BN vicinity are presented. Our results confirm that magnetic fields located inside the Orion A molecular clouds and in their…