CN Zeeman and dust polarization in a high-mass cold clump^⋆

Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel, 53121 Bonn, Germany
e-mail: tpillai.astro@gmail.com

Received: 21 November 2015
Accepted: 16 February 2016

Abstract

We report on the young massive clump (G35.20w) in W48 that previous molecular line and dust observations have revealed to be in the very early stages of star formation. Based on virial analysis, we find that a strong field of 1640 μG is required to keep the clump in pressure equilibrium. We performed a deep Zeeman effect measurement of the 113 GHz CN (1−0) line towards this clump with the IRAM 30 m telescope. We combine simultaneous fitting of all CN hyperfines with Monte Carlo simulations for a large range in realization of the magnetic field to obtain a constraint on the line-of-sight field strength of −687 ± 420 μG. We also analyze archival dust polarization observations towards G35.20w. A strong magnetic field is implied by the remarkably ordered field orientation that is perpendicular to the longest axis of the clump. Based on this, we also estimate the plane-of-sky component of the magnetic field to be ~740 μG. This allows for a unique comparison of the two orthogonal measurements of magnetic field strength of the same region and at similar spatial scales. The expected total field strength shows no significant conflict between the observed field and that required for pressure equilibrium. By producing a probability distribution for a large range in field geometries, we show that plane-of-sky projections are much closer to the true field strengths than line-of-sight projections. This can present a significant challenge for Zeeman measurements of magnetized structures, even with ALMA. We also show that CN molecule does not suffer from depletion on the observed scales in the predominantly cold and highly deuterated core in an early stage of high-mass star formation and is thus a good tracer of the dense gas.