First sub-parsec-scale mapping of magnetic fields in the vicinity of a very-low-luminosity object, L1521F-IRS

Abstract

L1521F is found to be forming multiple cores and it is cited as an example of the densest core with an embedded VeLLO in a highly dynamical environment. We present the core-scale magnetic fields (B-fields) in the near vicinity of the VeLLO L1521F-IRS using submillimeter polarization measurements at 850 μm using JCMT POL-2. This is the first attempt to use high-sensitivity observations to map the sub-parsec-scale B-fields in a core with a VeLLO. The B-fields are ordered and very well connected to the parsec-scale field geometry seen in our earlier optical polarization observations and the large-scale structure seen in Planck dust polarization. The core-scale B-field strength estimated using the Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi relation is 330 ± 100 μG, which is more than 10 times the value we obtained in the envelope (the envelope in this paper is the “core envelope”). This indicates that B-fields are getting stronger on smaller scales. The magnetic energies are found to be 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher than nonthermal kinetic energies in the envelope and core. This suggests that magnetic fields are more important than turbulence in the energy budget of L1521F. The mass-to-flux ratio of 2.3 ± 0.7 suggests that the core is magnetically supercritical. The degree of polarization is steadily decreasing toward the denser part of the core with a power-law slope of −0.86.