Search for Zeeman-splitting of OH 6.035 GHz line in the young planetary nebula K 3-35

Abstract

ABSTRACT Magnetic field could play a role in the formation and early evolution of non-spherical planetary nebulae (PNe). The predominant source of information of the magnetic fields in PNe is the polarization observations of maser emission. To date, distinct and/or possible Zeeman pairs have only been reported towards four PNe by measuring the OH ground-state transitions at 1.6–1.7 GHz. With the C-band (4–8 GHz) receiving system of the Shanghai TianMa 65-m radio telescope, we aim to search for possible Zeeman pairs of the PNe towards which the OH excited-state 6.035 GHz maser lines have been detected. For the young PN K 3-35, a new emission component near VLSR = 20.5 km s−1, which is currently the strongest (Ipeak ∼ 0.3 Jy) among the four components towards K 3-35 is detected. A clear S-shaped feature corresponding to this new emission component is observed in the Stokes V spectrum. Frequency shifts are seen between the fitted left-hand circular polarization and right-hand circular polarization emission peaks for the two emission components near VLSR = 19.7 and 20.5 km s−1. If the S-shaped profile and the frequency shifts are the results of Zeeman-splitting, the line-of-sight magnetic field strengths of +2.9 ± 0.6 and +4.5 ± 0.4 mG can be inferred for these two emission components, respectively.