Multi-layer magnetic structure toward NGC 1333 revealed by a square-degree optical polarimetric survey
Abstract
Magnetic-field studies of star-forming regions are complicated by overlapping structures along the line of sight. We investigate the large-scale magnetic field toward NGC~1333 in Perseus, accounting for foreground polarization through stellar distances and optical polarimetry. Our wide-field R-band survey covers nearly one square degree and provides polarization measurements for approximately 840 stars, with distances from Gaia DR3 and StarHorse. We used polarization-distance trends and Stokes parameters to identify line-of-sight components and estimate foreground polarization. After subtracting it in Stokes space, we characterized the field using circular statistics and the angular dispersion function (ADF), comparing it with molecular-line and complementary polarimetric observations. The data reveal a polarized foreground at 160-300 pc and a cloud component beyond 300 pc. After correction, the plane-of-sky field rotates smoothly from 126.3°±0.8° in the northwest to 162.2°±0.6° in the southeast, remaining well ordered in both regions. The ADF gives turbulent-to-ordered field ratios of 0.054+0.025−0.022 and 0.095+0.021−0.047, corresponding to plane-of-sky strengths of 59+44−23 and 46+50−13 μG. Residual foreground fluctuations may affect these estimates. CO data show multiple velocity components with spatially varying contributions. Corrected optical polarization agrees with the large-scale orientation traced by Planck, while near-infrared and JCMT/POL-2 data reveal localized deviations in denser structures. Our results indicate a coherent cloud-scale magnetic field with a smoothly changing orientation, alongside localized variations in dense structures. They demonstrate the value of combining stellar distances and wide-field optical polarimetry to disentangle foreground contributions.
Related
- High Resolution Spectro-Polarimetric Observations of the Optical Filaments surrounding NGC 1275 with ESPaDOnS
- The Galactic disk structure revealed by Gaia XP spectra
- The Peculiar Astrometric Behaviour and Radio Structure of the Quasar 1524-136 Revealed with Very Long Baseline Interferometry
- A 210 Megaparsec Ionized Structure at z=6.8 Revealed by an Astrophysics Foundation Model
- The Galactic disk structure revealed by Gaia XP spectra
BibTeX
@misc{franco2026multilayer,
title = {{Multi-layer magnetic structure toward NGC 1333 revealed by a square-degree optical polarimetric survey}},
author = {G. A. P. Franco and J. M. Girart and F. O. Alves},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.07839},
eprint = {2611.07839},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.07839},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Multi-layer magnetic structure toward NGC 1333 revealed by a square-degree optical polarimetric survey
AU - G. A. P. Franco
AU - J. M. Girart
AU - F. O. Alves
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.07839
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.07839
AB - Magnetic-field studies of star-forming regions are complicated by overlapping structures along the line of sight. We investigate the large-scale magnetic field toward NGC~1333 in Perseus, accounting for foreground polarization through stellar distances and optical polarimetry. Our wide-field R-band survey covers nearly one square degree and provides polarization measurements for approximately 840 stars, with distances from Gaia DR3 and StarHorse. We used polarization-distance trends and Stokes parameters to identify line-of-sight components and estimate foreground polarization. After subtracting it in Stokes space, we characterized the field using circular statistics and the angular dispersion function (ADF), comparing it with molecular-line and complementary polarimetric observations. The data reveal a polarized foreground at 160-300 pc and a cloud component beyond 300 pc. After correction, the plane-of-sky field rotates smoothly from 126.3°±0.8° in the northwest to 162.2°±0.6° in the southeast, remaining well ordered in both regions. The ADF gives turbulent-to-ordered field ratios of 0.054^+0.025_−0.022 and 0.095^+0.021_−0.047, corresponding to plane-of-sky strengths of 59^+44_−23 and 46^+50_−13 μG. Residual foreground fluctuations may affect these estimates. CO data show multiple velocity components with spatially varying contributions. Corrected optical polarization agrees with the large-scale orientation traced by Planck, while near-infrared and JCMT/POL-2 data reveal localized deviations in denser structures. Our results indicate a coherent cloud-scale magnetic field with a smoothly changing orientation, alongside localized variations in dense structures. They demonstrate the value of combining stellar distances and wide-field optical polarimetry to disentangle foreground contributions.
ER -