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| Paper: |
Determining the Magnetic Field Strength from Polarimetry of Dense Molecular Clouds: Theoretical Considerations |
| Volume: |
343, Astronomical Polarimetry: Current Status and Future Directions |
| Page: |
166 |
| Authors: |
Heitsch, F. |
| Abstract: |
The Chandrasekhar-Fermi (CF) method for estimating magnetic field strengths from polarimetry relies on equipartition between the turbulent kinetic and turbulent magnetic energy in the observed region. Thus, its application to objects not dominated by hydromagnetic turbulence is questionable. We calibrate the CF-method against numerical models of self-gravitating molecular cloud cores. We find – in agreement with previous results – that the method is on the average accurate up to a factor of 2, while a single estimate can be off by a factor of 7. The method is surprisingly robust even when applied to regions not dominated by hydromagnetic turbulence and in the face of small-number statistics. |
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