Characterizing Magnetic Field Morphologies in Three Serpens Protostellar Cores with ALMA

Valentin J M Le Gouellec,Zhi-Yun Li,Fabien Louvet,Paulo C Cortes,Ramprasad Rao,Josep M Girart,Anaëlle J Maury,Lars E Kristensen,Łukasz Tychoniec,Charles L H Hull

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab43c2

Abstract

Abstract With the aim of characterizing the dynamical processes involved in the formation of young protostars, we present high-angular-resolution ALMA dust polarization observations of the Class 0 protostellar cores Serpens SMM1, Emb 8(N), and Emb 8. With spatial resolutions ranging from 150 to 40 au at 870 μm, we find unexpectedly high values of the polarization fraction along the outflow cavity walls in Serpens Emb 8(N). We use 3 mm and 1 mm molecular tracers to investigate outflow and dense-gas properties and their correlation with the polarization. These observations allow us to investigate the physical processes involved in the radiative alignment torques (RATs) acting on dust grains along the outflow cavity walls, which experience irradiation from accretion processes and outflow shocks. The inner core of SMM1-a presents a polarization pattern with a poloidal magnetic field at the bases of the two lobes of the bipolar outflow. To the south of SMM1-a we see two polarized filaments, one of which seems to trace the redshifted outflow cavity wall. The other may be an accretion streamer of material infalling onto the central protostar. We propose that the polarized emission we see at millimeter wavelengths along the irradiated cavity walls can be reconciled with the expectations of RAT theory if the aligned grains present at <500 au scales in Class 0 envelopes have grown larger than the 0.1 μm size of dust grains in the interstellar medium. Our observations allow us to constrain the magnetic field morphologies of star-forming sources within the central cores, along the outflow cavity walls, and in possible accretion streamers.

Highlights

Protostellar cores are forming within the densest parts of molecular clouds, where star formation mostly occurs along organized filamentary structures (André et al 2000, 2014)
Given that most short-wavelength ( 10 μm) photons do not penetrate to depths larger than a few tens of au, our observations suggest that a population of large, >10 μm sized dust grains should be present in the cavity walls of Serpens Emb 8(N) to explain the ∼300 au thickness of the polarized emission
We have presented Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) dust polarization observations of the three Class 0 protostars Serpens SMM1, Emb 8(N), and Emb 8, at spatial scales from ∼150 au down to ∼40 au

Summary

Introduction

Protostellar cores are forming within the densest parts of molecular clouds, where star formation mostly occurs along organized filamentary structures (André et al 2000, 2014) Within these dense regions, prestellar cores, which are stellar precursors, are collapsing under their own gravitational field and form Class 0 protostellar cores. The accretion is known to be ruled by a variety of physical processes, of which the main observational signature is the vigorous ejection of material in the form of a bipolar outflow.

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