arXiv subjects

Larry Kirby

Publications and source records attributed to Larry Kirby.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2010

350 micron Polarimetry from the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory

We present a summary of data obtained with the 350 micron polarimeter, Hertz, at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. We give tabulated results and maps showing polarization vectors and flux contours. The summary includes over 4300 individual measurements in 56 Galactic sources and 2 galaxies. Of these measurements, 2153 have P >= 3σ_p statistical significance. The median polarization of the entire data set is 1.46%.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

Dispersion of Magnetic Fields in Molecular Clouds. II

We expand our study on the dispersion of polarization angles in molecular clouds. We show how the effect of signal integration through the thickness of the cloud as well as across the area subtended by the telescope beam inherent to dust continuum measurements can be incorporated in our analysis to correctly account for its effect on the measured angular dispersion and inferred turbulent to large-scale magnetic field strength ratio. We further show how to evaluate the turbulent magnetic field correlation scale from polarization data of sufficient spatial resolution and high enough spatial sampling rate. We apply our results to the molecular cloud OMC-1, where we find a turbulent correlation length of approximately 16 mpc, a turbulent to large-scale magnetic field strength ratio of approximately 0.5, and a plane-of-the-sky large-scale magnetic field strength of approximately 0.76 mG.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

Dispersion of Magnetic Fields in Molecular Clouds. I

We describe a method for determining the dispersion of magnetic field vectors about large-scale fields in turbulent molecular clouds. The method is designed to avoid inaccurate estimates of magnetohydrodynamic or turbulent dispersion - and help avoiding inaccurate estimates of field strengths - due to large-scale, non-turbulent field structure when using the well-known method of Chandrasekhar and Fermi. Our method also provides accurate, independent estimates of the turbulent to large-scale magnetic field strength ratio. We discuss applications to the molecular clouds OMC-1, M17, and DR21(Main).

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

DR21 Main: A Collapsing Cloud

The molecular cloud, DR21 Main, is an example of a large-scale gravitational collapse about an axis near the plane of the sky where the collapse is free of major disturbances due to rotation or other effects. Using flux maps, polarimetric maps, and measurements of the field inclination by comparing the line widths of ion and neutral species, we estimate the temperature, mass, magnetic field, and the turbulent kinetic, mean magnetic, and gravitational potential energies, and present a 3D model of the cloud and magnetic field.

astro-ph↗