Infrared polarimetry of dark clouds. I. Magnetic field structure in Heiles cloud 2.
Abstract
The K-band polarization of 18 stars toward Heiles Cloud 2 in the Taurus dark cloud complex has been measured to investigate the structure of the magnetic field in this cloud. The observed polarization vectors are well aligned, with a mean position angle of ≡50°, which is perpendicular to the direction of the elongation of the cloud. This indicates that Heiles Cloud 2 has formed by contraction along the magnetic field, resulting in the flattened shape.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- January 1987
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/224.2.413
- Bibcode:
- 1987MNRAS.224..413T
- Keywords:
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- Infrared Spectra;
- Magnetic Field Configurations;
- Molecular Clouds;
- Polarimetry;
- Taurus Constellation;
- Evolution (Development);
- Star Formation;
- Stellar Spectra;
- Astrophysics