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| Paper: |
Magnetic Fields in Molecular Clouds |
| Volume: |
417, Submillimeter Astrophysics and Technology: A Symposium Honoring Thomas G. Phillips |
| Page: |
257 |
| Authors: |
Hildebrand, R. H. |
| Abstract: |
Maps of far-infrared and submillimeter polarization vectors have typically been examined one-at-a-time for magnetic field structure related to processes such as gravitational collapse, differential rotation, expanding HII regions, or tidal stripping. The same maps can be used to determine angular dispersion due to turbulence in molecular clouds, where the turbulent dispersion is distinguished from dispersion due to curvature of the large-scale structure or the apparent dispersion due to measurement error. Taking into account the differences between the dispersion due to magneto-hydrodynamic waves in the arms of the Galaxy and dispersion due to turbulence in molecular clouds, one can infer field strengths in dense clouds using a method analogous to that used by Chandresekhar & Fermi to determine field strengths in the Galactic plane. With an accurate archive of flux and polarization maps one can also determine three-dimensional cloud shapes and field orientations, or look for correlations between fields in molecular clouds and fields in the surrounding medium. |
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