THE ALIGNMENT OF THE POLARIZATION OF HERBIG Ae/Be STARS WITH THE INTERSTELLAR MAGNETIC FIELD

Author(s)

Rodrigues, Claudia V. ^[1] ; Sartori, Marilia J. ^[2] ; Gregorio-Hetem, Jane ^[3] ; Magalhaes, A. Mario ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Inst Nacl Pesquisas Espaciais MCT, BR-12227010 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP - Brazil

^[2] Lab Nacl Astrofis MCT, BR-37504364 Itajuba, MG - Brazil

^[3] Un Sao Paulo, Inst Astron Goefis & Ciencias Atmosfericas, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL; v. 698, n. 2, p. 2031-2035, JUN 20 2009.
• Web of Science Citations: 20

Abstract

We present a study of the correlation between the direction of the symmetry axis of the circumstellar material around intermediate mass young stellar objects and that of the interstellar magnetic field. We use CCD polarimetric data on 100 Herbig Ae/Be stars. A large number of them show intrinsic polarization, which indicates that their circumstellar envelopes are not spherical. The interstellar magnetic field direction is estimated from the polarization of field stars. There is an alignment between the position angle of the Herbig Ae/Be star polarization and that of the field stars for the most polarized objects. This may be an evidence that the ambient interstellar magnetic field plays a role in shaping the circumstellar material around young stars of intermediate mass and/or in defining their angular momentum axis. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 05/00397-1 - Chemical evolution and galactic and extragalactic stellar populations by spectroscopy and imaging
• Grantee: Beatriz Leonor Silveira Barbuy
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 01/12589-1 - Stars, the interstellar medium and their interrelationships
• Grantee: Antônio Mário Magalhães
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants