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Large-scale magnetic fields in the outflow from the young stellar object T Tauri S

Nature volume 385, pages 415–417 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

T Tauri stars are young stellar objects, similar in mass to the Sun, that are completing the transition between a collapsing cloud and a main-sequence star powered by hydrogen fusion1. Many of these objects are associated with circumstellar (and, presumably, protoplanetary) disks2, as well as energetic outflows of gas that can extend several light years away from the young star3. These outflows are thought to be collimated by magnetic fields4, but direct observational evidence for such fields has hitherto been lacking. Here we show that the infrared companion5 (T Tau S) of the prototypical T Tauri star (T Tau itself) recently ejected in opposite directions two large lobes of mildly relativistic particles. The radio emission from the two lobes exhibits strong circular polarization of opposite helicity, implying the existence of a strong, ordered magnetic field at a surprisingly large distance from the source. We also find that the T Tau system may contain three stars, rather than two as previously thought.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 5 Merrion Square, Dublin, 2, Ireland

    T. P. Ray & D. Corcoran

  2. National Radio Astronomy Laboratory, Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, SK11 9DL, UK

    T. W. B. Muxlow & D. J. Axon

  3. Space Sciences Division of ESA, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, USA

    D. J. Axon

  4. Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Campus Box 389, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0389, USA

    A. Brown

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    J. Dyson

  6. Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany

    R. Mundt

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Ray, T., Muxlow, T., Axon, D. et al. Large-scale magnetic fields in the outflow from the young stellar object T Tauri S. Nature 385, 415–417 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/385415a0

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