Relative Orientation of Magnetic Field and Cloud Structure in L1688
Event date
-
Speaker
Dennis Lee
Affiliation
Northwestern University
Location
Online
Event Type
Teletalk

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In this talk, I will discuss a study of the relative orientation between the magnetic field and elongated cloud structures for the Rho Oph A and Rho Oph E regions in L1688. Combining inferred magnetic field orientation from HAWC+/SOFIA observations with column density maps from Herschel submillimeter observations, we performed an analysis using the histogram of relative orientations (HRO) technique. We find consistent perpendicular relative alignment at scales of 0.02 pc (33.6” at d ~ 137 pc) supporting the conclusions of Planck Intermediate Results XXXV for nearby clouds and extending the results to higher column densities. We also investigate the column density where L1688 transitions from preferentially parallel to preferentially perpendicular alignment and, again, finding good agreement with values from Planck Intermediate Results XXXV. Using MHD simulations of molecular clouds formed by colliding flows as a model for L1688, we find a corresponding transition volume density. I discuss the implications of this value as an indicator for the strength of the magnetic field relative to other processes (i.e., turbulence, gravity).

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