Magnetic Fields in the Formation of Massive Stars

被引:185
作者
Girart, Josep M. [1 ]
Beltran, Maria T. [2 ,3 ]
Zhang, Qizhou [4 ]
Rao, Ramprasad [5 ]
Estalella, Robert [2 ,3 ]
机构
[1] Inst Estudis Catalunya IEEC, CSIC, Inst Ciencies Espai, Bellaterra 08193, Catalunya, Spain
[2] Univ Barcelona, Dept Astron & Meteorol IEEC UB, Inst Ciencies Cosmos, E-08028 Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
[3] Univ Barcelona, Unitat Assoc CSIC, E-08028 Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
[4] Harvard Smithsonian Ctr Astrophys, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
[5] Acad Sinica, Inst Astron & Astrophys, Hilo, HI 96720 USA
关键词
SUBMILLIMETER ARRAY; CLOUD CORES; ACCRETION; COLLAPSE; POLARIZATION; G31.41+0.31; BRAKING; GAS; FRAGMENTATION; OUTFLOW;
D O I
10.1126/science.1171807
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Massive stars play a crucial role in the production of heavy elements and in the evolution of the interstellar medium, yet how they form is still a matter of debate. We report high-angular-resolution submillimeter observations toward the massive hot molecular core (HMC) in the high-mass star-forming region G31.41+0.31. We find that the evolution of the gravitational collapse of the HMC is controlled by the magnetic field. The HMC is simultaneously contracting and rotating, and the magnetic field lines threading the HMC are deformed along its major axis, acquiring an hourglass shape. The magnetic energy dominates over the centrifugal and turbulence energies, and there is evidence of magnetic braking in the contracting core.
引用
收藏
页码:1408 / 1411
页数:4
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