UCL Discovery Stage
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery Stage

The JCMT BISTRO Survey: multiwavelength polarimetry of bright regions in NGC 2071 in the far-infrared/submillimetre range, with POL-2 and HAWC+

Fanciullo, Lapo; Kemper, Francisca; Pattle, Kate; Koch, Patrick M; Sadavoy, Sarah; Coude, Simon; Soam, Archana; ... Shinnaga, Hiroko; + view all (2022) The JCMT BISTRO Survey: multiwavelength polarimetry of bright regions in NGC 2071 in the far-infrared/submillimetre range, with POL-2 and HAWC+. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , 512 (2) pp. 1985-2002. 10.1093/mnras/stac528. Green open access

[thumbnail of stac528.pdf]
Preview
PDF
stac528.pdf - Published Version

Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Polarized dust emission is a key tracer in the study of interstellar medium and of star formation. The observed polarization, however, is a product of magnetic field structure, dust grain properties, and grain alignment efficiency, as well as their variations in the line of sight, making it difficult to interpret polarization unambiguously. The comparison of polarimetry at multiple wavelengths is a possible way of mitigating this problem. We use data from HAWC+ /SOFIA and from SCUBA-2/POL-2 (from the BISTRO survey) to analyse the NGC 2071 molecular cloud at 154, 214, and 850 μm. The polarization angle changes significantly with wavelength over part of NGC 2071, suggesting a change in magnetic field morphology on the line of sight as each wavelength best traces different dust populations. Other possible explanations are the existence of more than one polarization mechanism in the cloud or scattering from very large grains. The observed change of polarization fraction with wavelength, and the 214-to-154 μm polarization ratio in particular, are difficult to reproduce with current dust models under the assumption of uniform alignment efficiency. We also show that the standard procedure of using monochromatic intensity as a proxy for column density may produce spurious results at HAWC+wavelengths. Using both long-wavelength (POL-2, 850 μm) and short-wavelength (HAWC+, ≲200μm) polarimetry is key in obtaining these results. This study clearly shows the importance of multi-wavelength polarimetry at submillimetre bands to understand the dust properties of molecular clouds and the relationship between magnetic field and star formation.

Type: Article
Title: The JCMT BISTRO Survey: multiwavelength polarimetry of bright regions in NGC 2071 in the far-infrared/submillimetre range, with POL-2 and HAWC+
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac528
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac528
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: polarization, ISM: clouds, ISM: individual objects (NGC 2071), ISM: magnetic fields, submillimetre: ISM
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10146944
Downloads since deposit
1,092Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item