SF-06-0022

A Multi-Wavelength Polarization Study of the Most Deeply Embedded Protostars in the Orion Molecular Clouds

Nicole Karnath, John Tobin, Amelia Stutz, Valentin LeGoullec, Thomas Megeath, Ian Stephens

We present an ALMA and SOFIA/HAWC+ dust polarimetry study of the five most deeply embedded protostars known in the Orion Molecular Clouds, one of these being a hydrostatic core candidate. They are isolated from significant radiation or mechanical feedback from more massive protostars forming in Orion B. They are distinguished from the 300+ sample in the VANDAM survey due to their bright, extended, irregular emission at 0.87- and 8-mm, lack of disk or point-like morphology, and are optically thick at 0.87-mm. The complementary datasets of Band 7 ALMA with 400 AU spatial resolution and Band E HAWC+ with ~7500 AU spatial resolution trace the magnetic field structure of the cloud down to the scales of the individual protostellar cores. We present the morphology of the inferred magnetic field lines and we explore how they guide or hinder the flow of material from the clouds to the protostars. The estimated ages of these protostars are <10 kyr and are thought to be in the process of forming hydrostatic cores, as the centers of the fragments become optically thick to their own radiation and compression raises the gas temperature. These objects defy current theoretical expectation. The luminosities of these objects suggest collapse times much slower than their free fall times, yet thermal pressure is insufficient to slow their collapse. We will assess whether magnetic field can mediate their collapse and explore the magnetic environment of the dense structures surrounding these objects.