EPoS Contribution
EPoS Contribution
Magnetic Fields in Bright-rimmed Clouds and Cometary Globules traced using R-band polarization observations

Archana Soam
ARIES, Nainital, IN
The H II regions commonly display highly irregular structures and a variety of peculiar objects. These objects are classified according to their appearance as fingers or pillars, speck globules, bright-rimmed clouds (BRCs), cometary globules (CGs) and elephant trunks. Though they are quite prevalent, their origin is poorly understood. BRCs and CGs are molecular clouds having an elongated shape that is directed away from the main ionizing source and show bright rims on the side facing the ionizing source. Many of these clouds are identified as potential sites of star formation. We present preliminary results of our R-band polarimetric observations carried out towards five BRCs (SFO 4, SFO 12, SFO 36, SFO 37 and SFO 38) and two cometary shaped clouds (LDN 1616 and LDN 328). The aim of this project was to map the geometry of magnetic fields of these clouds. Our results will be compared with those from the simulations (available in the literature) carried out by including magnetic fields of various strengths and orientations to understand the effects of magnetic fields on the dynamical evolution of globules in the vicinity of massive stars.
Caption: R-band polarization vectors over-plotted on the WISE 12 micron and H-alpha component images of some BRCs and CGs. First row of this image (from left to right) shows the polarimetric results in CGs LDN 1616 and LDN 328 and BRC SFO4 respectively. Second row of this image (from left to right) shows the polarimetric results in BRCs namely SFO 36, SFO 37 and SFO 38 respectively.
Collaborators:
G. Maheswar, ARIES, India
C.W. Lee, KASI, Korea
H.C. Bhatt, IIA, India
S. Dib, MPIA, Germany
M. Tamura, NAOJ, Japan
Key publication

Suggested Sessions: Magnetic Fields