Oral Presentation

A Unified Interpretation of Zeeman Measurements and Polarized Thermal Dust Emission

Author(s): Hua-bai Li & Zhuo Cao (CUHK)

Presenter: Hua-bai Li (CUHK)

At the beginning of this century, most astronomers believed that only super-Alfvenic turbulence could compete with gravity in star formation. The picture slowly changed in the second decade when polarized thermal dust emission suggested that B-fields were largely ordered (meaning both turbulence and gravitational contraction are anisotropic). Meanwhile, however, the field (B)-density (n) relationship, B~n^2/3, inferred from Zeeman measurements has been interpreted as isotropic gravitational collapse. The contradiction between the results from two major B-field tracers remains a mystery (see, e.g., the latest PPVII review chapter). The logic and data behind the above statement will be discussed, followed by my solution to the mystery.