Участники проекта «Чрезвычайно длинные и темные нити: исследование магнитной поляризации» (FIELDMAPS) под
“Before SOFIA, it was difficult to image magnetic fields withhigh resolution throughout the bone,” Stevens says. “Now we can get many independent measurements of the direction of the magnetic field in these bones, which allows us to really understand the importance of the field in these massive filamentous clouds.”
The map shows the direction of magnetic fields inbone G47, superimposed on the image of the bone thread. The red and yellow areas are areas with a high density of dust and gas. Source: NASA, ESA, Herschel, PACS, SPIRE, Ke Wang, Ian Stephens
In spiral galaxies, most starsformed in the sleeves. The "basis" of such galaxies is galactic bones, long filaments that unite the densest sections of the arms. On a large scale, a galaxy's magnetic field follows its arms, so magnetic fields have traditionally been thought to form along the galaxy's arms and perpendicular to its bones.
FIELDMAPS researchers found that magneticthe fields in G47 are strong enough to keep the gas in many regions from succumbing to gravitational collapse to form stars. It turned out that the magnetic fields in the studied bone are complex, often changing direction. Only in the densest areas were they directed perpendicular to the bone.
Astrophysicists believe that parallel magneticfields from less dense regions direct matter into denser regions. And perpendicular fields in dense regions play a key role in the rate of star formation, preventing the birth of new stars.
"Magnetic fields can determine the speedformation of stars in the cloud. They can also direct the flow of gas, form bones, and influence the number and size of the densest gas pockets, which eventually collapse to form stars,” notes Stevens.
In the FIELDMAPS project, scientists are planningvisualize the magnetic fields of ten different bones. The researchers believe that together these results will help to better understand the role of magnetic fields in the arms of spiral galaxies.
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