EVN observations of 6.7 GHz methanol maser polarization in massive star-forming regions

III. The flux-limited sample^⋆

¹ Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, Postbus 2, 7990 AA Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
e-mail: surcis@jive.nl
² Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Space Observatory, 439 92 Onsala, Sweden
³ Sterrewacht Leiden, Leiden University, Postbus 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
⁴ Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany
⁵ National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, Ministry of Science and Technology, Rama VI Rd., 10400 Bangkok, Thailand
⁶ Centre for Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Grudziadzka 5, 87-100 Torun, Poland
⁷ Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Viale dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy

Received: 27 November 2014
Accepted: 10 April 2015

Abstract

Context. Theoretical simulations and observations at different angular resolutions have shown that magnetic fields have a central role in massive star formation. Like in low-mass star formation, the magnetic field in massive young stellar objects can either be oriented along the outflow axis or randomly.

Aims. Measuring the magnetic field at milliarcsecond resolution (10–100 au) around a substantial number of massive young stellar objects permits determining with a high statistical significance whether the direction of the magnetic field is correlated with the orientation of the outflow axis or not.

Methods. In late 2012, we started a large VLBI campaign with the European VLBI Network to measure the linearly and circularly polarized emission of 6.7 GHz CH₃OH masers around a sample of massive star-forming regions. This paper focuses on the first seven observed sources, G24.78+0.08, G25.65+1.05, G29.86-0.04, G35.03+0.35, G37.43+1.51, G174.20-0.08, and G213.70-12.6. For all these sources, molecular outflows have been detected in the past.

Results. We detected a total of 176 CH₃OH masing cloudlets toward the seven massive star-forming regions, 19% of which show linearly polarized emission. The CH₃OH masers around the massive young stellar object MM1 in G174.20-0.08 show neither linearly nor circularly polarized emission. The linear polarization vectors are well ordered in all the other massive young stellar objects. We measured significant Zeeman splitting toward both A1 and A2 in G24.78+0.08, and toward G29.86-0.04 and G213.70-12.6.

Conclusions. By considering all the 19 massive young stellar objects reported in the literature for which both the orientation of the magnetic field at milliarcsecond resolution and the orientation of outflow axes are known, we find evidence that the magnetic field (on scales 10–100 au) is preferentially oriented along the outflow axes.