Understanding how stars form out of diffuse interstellar gas is a problem that underlies much of modern astrophysics, from the formation of planets to the chemical evolution of our universe. A key outstanding question is whether magnetic fields contribute to the observed low efficiency of the star-formation process. In this talk, I will discuss what we have learned about the role played by magnetic fields in star formation, with a particular focus on results from the BLASTPol balloon-borne sub-mm polarimeter. BLASTPol operates 38.5 km above the Earth's surface (above 99.5% of the atmosphere), where it can produce large detailed maps of magnetic fields in nearby star-forming molecular gas clouds. By statistically comparing BLASTPol inferred magnetic-field maps of a massive molecular cloud with simulations, we find that magnetic fields play an important role in the formation of both low- and high-density cloud structures. I will also discuss BLAST-TNG, a next-generation balloon-borne polarimeter that is scheduled for a first flight from Antarctica in December 2019. With BLAST-TNG we will apply these same analysis techniques to a larger sample of clouds with 5 times better resolution, and quantitatively determine the extent to which magnetic fields affect star-formation efficiency.
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2019-02-25T15:00:002019-02-25T16:00:00Studying Star Formation from the StratosphereEvent Information:
Understanding how stars form out of diffuse interstellar gas is a problem that underlies much of modern astrophysics, from the formation of planets to the chemical evolution of our universe. A key outstanding question is whether magnetic fields contribute to the observed low efficiency of the star-formation process. In this talk, I will discuss what we have learned about the role played by magnetic fields in star formation, with a particular focus on results from the BLASTPol balloon-borne sub-mm polarimeter. BLASTPol operates 38.5 km above the Earth's surface (above 99.5% of the atmosphere), where it can produce large detailed maps of magnetic fields in nearby star-forming molecular gas clouds. By statistically comparing BLASTPol inferred magnetic-field maps of a massive molecular cloud with simulations, we find that magnetic fields play an important role in the formation of both low- and high-density cloud structures. I will also discuss BLAST-TNG, a next-generation balloon-borne polarimeter that is scheduled for a first flight from Antarctica in December 2019. With BLAST-TNG we will apply these same analysis techniques to a larger sample of clouds with 5 times better resolution, and quantitatively determine the extent to which magnetic fields affect star-formation efficiency. Event Location:
Hennings 318