The Polarizing Power of the Interstellar Medium in Taurus

Abstract

We present a study of the polarizing power of the dust in cold dense regions (dark clouds) compared to that of dust in the general interstellar medium (ISM). Our study uses new polarimetric, optical, and spectral classification data for 36 stars to carefully study the relation between polarization percentage (p) and extinction (A_V) in the Taurus dark cloud complex. We find two trends in our p-A_V study: (1) stars background to the warm ISM show an increase in p with A_V; and (2) the percentage of polarization of stars background to cold dark clouds does not increase with extinction. We detect a break in the p-A_V relation at an extinction 1.3 +/- 0.2 mag, which we expect corresponds to a set of conditions where the polarizing power of the dust associated with the Taurus dark clouds drops precipitously. This breakpoint places important restrictions on the use of polarimetry in studying interstellar magnetic fields.