Polarized Light from Massive Protoclusters (POLIMAP). I. Dissecting the role of magnetic fields in the massive infrared dark cloud G28.37+0.07

Abstract

Magnetic fields may play a crucial role in setting the initial conditions of massive star and star cluster formation. To investigate this, we report SOFIA-HAWC+ $214\:\mu$m observations of polarized thermal dust emission and high-resolution GBT-Argus C$^{18}$O(1-0) observations toward the massive Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G28.37+0.07. Considering the local dispersion of $B$-field orientations, we produce a map of $B$-field strength of the IRDC, which exhibits values between $\sim0.03 - 1\:$mG based on a refined Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi (r-DCF) method proposed by Skalidis \& Tassis. Comparing to a map of inferred density, the IRDC exhibits a $B-n$ relation with a power law index of $0.51\pm0.02$, which is consistent with a scenario of magnetically-regulated anisotropic collapse. Consideration of the mass-to-flux ratio map indicates that magnetic fields are dynamically important in most regions of the IRDC. A virial analysis of a sample of massive, dense cores in the IRDC, including evaluation of magnetic and kinetic internal and surface terms, indicates consistency with virial equilibrium, sub-Alfv\'enic conditions and a dominant role for $B-$fields in regulating collapse. A clear alignment of magnetic field morphology with direction of steepest column density gradient is also detected. However, there is no preferred orientation of protostellar outflow directions with the $B-$field. Overall, these results indicate that magnetic fields play a crucial role in regulating massive star and star cluster formation and so need to be accounted for in theoretical models of these processes.