Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

EDP Sciences, Astronomy & Astrophysics, (623), p. A130, 2019

DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201834578

EDP Sciences, Astronomy & Astrophysics, (578), p. A102, 2015

DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201425420

EDP Sciences, Astronomy & Astrophysics, (556), p. A73, 2013

DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201321501

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

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

Journal article published in 2012 by Gabriele Surcis ORCID, W. H. T. Vlemmings ORCID, H. J. van Langevelde ORCID, B. Hutawarakorn Kramer ORCID, A. Bartkiewicz ORCID, M. G. Blasi, L. H. Quiroga-Nuñez
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Red circle
Preprint: archiving forbidden
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Upload
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Upload
Policy details
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Context. Although the role of magnetic fields in launching molecular outflows in massive young stellar objects has been convincingly demonstrated by theoretical arguments, observationally, the alignment of the magnetic field lines with the molecular outflows is still under debate. Aims. We aim to complete the measurements of the direction of the magnetic fields at milliarcsecond resolution around a sample of massive star-forming regions to determine whether the magnetic field and outflows are aligned. Methods. In 2012, we started a large very long baseline interferometry campaign with the European VLBI Network to measure the magnetic field orientation and strength toward a sample of 31 massive star-forming regions (called the flux-limited sample) by analyzing the polarized emission of 6.7 GHz CH3OH masers. In the previous papers of the series, we have presented 80% of the sample. Here, we report the linearly and circularly polarized emission of 6.7 GHz CH3OH masers toward the last five massive star-forming regions of the flux-limited sample. The sources are G30.70-0.07, G30.76-0.05, G31.28+0.06, G32.03+0.06, and G69.52-0.97. Results. We detected a total of 209 CH3OH maser cloudlets, 15% of which show linearly polarized emission (0.07–16.7%), and 2% of which show circularly polarized emission (0.2–4.2%). As reported in previous papers, in the last five sources of the flux-limited sample, we also measured well-ordered linear polarization vectors. Zeeman splitting was measured toward G30.70-0.07, G32.03+0.06, and G69.52-0.97. Conclusions. The statistical analysis of the entire flux-limited sample shows that the observations are consistent with a bimodal distribution in the difference between the 3D magnetic field direction and the outflow axis, with half the magnetic field directions being perpendicular and the other half being parallel to the outflow. In addition, we determined that typical values of the linear and circular polarization fractions for 6.7 GHz CH3OH masers are Pl = 1.0–2.5% and PV = 0.5–0.75%, respectively. From the circularly polarized spectra of the CH3OH maser features, we found that a typical Zeeman splitting is in the range between 0.5 m s−1 and 2.0 m s−1. This would correspond to 9 mG < |B||| < 40 mG if F = 3 → 4 is the most favored of the eight hyperfine transitions that might contribute to the maser emission.