Two distinct types of dust polarization in the disk and its vicinity around the protostar TMC-1A

  • Published : 2020.10.13

Abstract

We observed the Class I protostar TMC-1A in polarized dust emission at 1.3 mm at a spatial resolution of ~40 au using ALMA. Previous observations revealed a disk (r~100 au), surrounded by an infalling envelope, and a CO outflow going in the north-south direction in TMC-1A. Our observations detected polarized dust emission in a central region (r~50 au) and ~100 au north and south of the central protostar. The former polarization is likely due to self-scattering because of the polarization direction along the disk minor axis, the polarization fraction independent of Stokes I, and a high optical thickness. The latter polarization is roughly in the outflow region. The position and direction, particularly in the north, imply multiple possible mechanisms: magnetically or mechanically aligned dust grains in the outflow or in an accretion flow.

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