Magnetic field morphological diagnostics with ALMA in the G327.29 protocluster: VGT versus dust polarization

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Koley, A., Stutz, A. M., Lazarian, A., Hu, Y., Sanhueza, P., Saha, P., Alvarez-Gutierrez, R. H., Sandoval-Garrido, N. S., Castro-Toledo, N., Mesina, G. Bernal
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866908775479246848
author Koley, A.
Stutz, A. M.
Lazarian, A.
Hu, Y.
Sanhueza, P.
Saha, P.
Alvarez-Gutierrez, R. H.
Sandoval-Garrido, N. S.
Castro-Toledo, N.
Mesina, G. Bernal
author_facet Koley, A.
Stutz, A. M.
Lazarian, A.
Hu, Y.
Sanhueza, P.
Saha, P.
Alvarez-Gutierrez, R. H.
Sandoval-Garrido, N. S.
Castro-Toledo, N.
Mesina, G. Bernal
contents Magnetic fields and turbulence may play a key role in the evolution of protoclusters, influencing the formation of dense cores and stars. Here, we examine the morphology of the magnetic fields in the G327.29 protocluster using both the velocity gradient technique (VGT) extracted from molecular line emissions and linear polarization in the dust continuum emission. The VGT analysis is performed using four molecular tracers: DCN (3-2), C18O (2-1), HN13C (3-2), and H13CO+ (3-2) - which probe gas across different density regimes, observed with the ALMA 12 m array. Owing to its sensitivity to gas dynamics, a comparison between VGT and dust polarization provides a powerful probe of the evolutionary processes in massive star-forming regions. From our analysis we reveal a complex magnetic-field structure, shaped by the combined influence of turbulence and gravity. In addition, it also appears that there is a large-scale (beyond the core scale) gravitational infall from the surrounding medium on to the filament and the central densest region. Furthermore, we observe that cores are dominated by a mix of turbulence and gravity. Overall, this work presents, likely for the first time, the application of VGT to a massive protocluster, G327.29, using high-resolution ALMA observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_13473
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Magnetic field morphological diagnostics with ALMA in the G327.29 protocluster: VGT versus dust polarization
Koley, A.
Stutz, A. M.
Lazarian, A.
Hu, Y.
Sanhueza, P.
Saha, P.
Alvarez-Gutierrez, R. H.
Sandoval-Garrido, N. S.
Castro-Toledo, N.
Mesina, G. Bernal
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Magnetic fields and turbulence may play a key role in the evolution of protoclusters, influencing the formation of dense cores and stars. Here, we examine the morphology of the magnetic fields in the G327.29 protocluster using both the velocity gradient technique (VGT) extracted from molecular line emissions and linear polarization in the dust continuum emission. The VGT analysis is performed using four molecular tracers: DCN (3-2), C18O (2-1), HN13C (3-2), and H13CO+ (3-2) - which probe gas across different density regimes, observed with the ALMA 12 m array. Owing to its sensitivity to gas dynamics, a comparison between VGT and dust polarization provides a powerful probe of the evolutionary processes in massive star-forming regions. From our analysis we reveal a complex magnetic-field structure, shaped by the combined influence of turbulence and gravity. In addition, it also appears that there is a large-scale (beyond the core scale) gravitational infall from the surrounding medium on to the filament and the central densest region. Furthermore, we observe that cores are dominated by a mix of turbulence and gravity. Overall, this work presents, likely for the first time, the application of VGT to a massive protocluster, G327.29, using high-resolution ALMA observations.
title Magnetic field morphological diagnostics with ALMA in the G327.29 protocluster: VGT versus dust polarization
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.13473