Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2006-05-03
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
4 pages, two figures. To appear in the proceedings of IAU Symp. 234, ``Planetary Nebulae in our Galaxy and Beyond.''
Scientific paper
10.1017/S1743921306003073
We present the first direct measurements of the magnetic field strength and direction in a collimated jet from an evolved star on its way to become a planetary nebula. Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the linear and circular polarization of the water masers in the collimated jet of W43A reveal a strong toroidal magnetic field, indicating that the jet is magnetically collimated. The magnetic field strength in the jet extrapolated back to the stellar surface yields a surface field of several Gauss, consistent with the measurements of maser polarization in a large sample of evolved stars. The origin of the magnetic field is yet unknown, although the jet precession might point to the existence of a heavy planet or stellar companion. This is the first direct observational evidence for magnetic collimation in the jets, that likely play an important role in shaping planetary nebulae.
Diamond Phil J.
Imai Hiroshi
Vlemmings Wouter H. T.
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