Magnetic Field of Molecular Gas Measured with the Velocity Gradient Technique I. Orion A

Abstract

Magnetic fields play an important role in the evolution of molecular clouds and star formation. Using the velocity gradient technique (VGT) model, we measured the magnetic field in Orion A using the 12CO, 13CO, and C18O(1-0) emission lines at a scale of ∼0.07 pc. The measured B field shows an east–west orientation that is perpendicular to the integral shaped filament of Orion A at large scale. The VGT magnetic fields obtained from 13CO and C18O are in agreement with the B field that is measured from the Planck 353 GHz dust polarization at a scale of ∼0.55 pc. Removal of density effects by using a velocity decomposition algorithm can significantly improve the accuracy of the VGT in tracing magnetic fields with the 12CO(1-0) line. The magnetic field strengths of seven subclouds, OMC-1, OMC-2, OMC-3, OMC-4, OMC-5, L 1641-N, and NGC 1999, have also been estimated with the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi and the Two Mach Numbers technique, and these are found to be in agreement with previous results obtained from dust polarization at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths. At smaller scales, the VGT prove a good method to measure magnetic fields.