Magnetic Properties of Galactic Molecular Clouds
Abstract
The earliest studies of molecular clouds (MCs) showed scaling relations between mass and radius M∼R^s with exponent s ≈ 2, known as the third Larson relation. More recent CO surveys indicate 2 < s < 3 in the inner Milky Way (MW) and nearby galaxies. These observations appear consistent with the virial equilibrium (VE) of magnetically subcritical clouds, bound by the pressure Pe of the midplane ISM. The VE equations for such clouds are consistent with 2 < s < 3 for magnetically subcritical clouds, but not for magnetically critical, supercritical, or nonmagnetic clouds. We fit the subcritical VE equations to M-R trends observed in CO surveys of ∼1500 clouds, with correlation coefficients 0.8 - 1. The fits indicate median mass-to-flux ratio lambda ≈ 0.7, magnetic field strength Btot ≈ 60μG, and Pe/k ≈ 5 x 10^5 cm^-3 K in the inner MW, with lesser values in M33 and M31. For 18 MW "bones," VE analysis assuming likely values of Pe also indicates subcritical values of lambda, as found from polarization observations. These results indicate that many giant molecular clouds (GMCs) are consistent with pressure-bound magnetically subcritical virial equilibrium. If so, GMCs may have low star formation efficiency (SFE) because their relatively strong fields cause filaments, clumps and cores to form slowly, while feedback and turbulence disperse them rapidly. The fields in their clumps and cores are likely weak enough to allow star-forming collapse, according to Zeeman and DCF observations, and according to MHD simulations which predict SFE ≈ 0.5-2%.
Related
- Examining Turbulence in Galactic Molecular Clouds. II. Turbulence Cascade Beyond the Scale of Giant Molecular Clouds
- Hierarchical Dynamics within Molecular Clouds: Type 4 Scaling Relations of Molecular Clouds in the Second Galactic Quadrant
- Hierarchical Dynamics within Molecular Clouds: Type 4 Scaling Relations of Molecular Clouds in the Second Galactic Quadrant
- A Physics Informed Neural Network Approach to Decipher Environmental Confinement of Molecular Clouds in the Third Galactic Quadrant
- Interplay of Magnetic Fields, Dust Extinction, and Grain Alignment in Three Molecular Clouds
BibTeX
@misc{myers2026magnetic,
title = {{Magnetic Properties of Galactic Molecular Clouds}},
author = {Philip C. Myers and Ian W. Stephens and Simon Coudé and Nicole Karnath and Howard A. Smith},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.06792},
eprint = {2611.06792},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.06792},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Magnetic Properties of Galactic Molecular Clouds
AU - Philip C. Myers
AU - Ian W. Stephens
AU - Simon Coudé
AU - Nicole Karnath
AU - Howard A. Smith
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.06792
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.06792
AB - The earliest studies of molecular clouds (MCs) showed scaling relations between mass and radius M∼R^s with exponent s ≈ 2, known as the third Larson relation. More recent CO surveys indicate 2 < s < 3 in the inner Milky Way (MW) and nearby galaxies. These observations appear consistent with the virial equilibrium (VE) of magnetically subcritical clouds, bound by the pressure Pe of the midplane ISM. The VE equations for such clouds are consistent with 2 < s < 3 for magnetically subcritical clouds, but not for magnetically critical, supercritical, or nonmagnetic clouds. We fit the subcritical VE equations to M-R trends observed in CO surveys of ∼1500 clouds, with correlation coefficients 0.8 - 1. The fits indicate median mass-to-flux ratio lambda ≈ 0.7, magnetic field strength Btot ≈ 60μG, and Pe/k ≈ 5 x 10^5 cm^-3 K in the inner MW, with lesser values in M33 and M31. For 18 MW "bones," VE analysis assuming likely values of Pe also indicates subcritical values of lambda, as found from polarization observations. These results indicate that many giant molecular clouds (GMCs) are consistent with pressure-bound magnetically subcritical virial equilibrium. If so, GMCs may have low star formation efficiency (SFE) because their relatively strong fields cause filaments, clumps and cores to form slowly, while feedback and turbulence disperse them rapidly. The fields in their clumps and cores are likely weak enough to allow star-forming collapse, according to Zeeman and DCF observations, and according to MHD simulations which predict SFE ≈ 0.5-2%.
ER -