New images from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory that show a young protostar, NGC1333 IRAS 4A, in an unprecedented level of detail have allowed scientists to examine the material rotating around it, leading them to conclude that the star likely pulled in and twisted magnetic fields from the space surrounding it. The findings were made with the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope and will help researchers better understand how dusty disks, which are the raw materials necessary for planet formation, form around young stars.
The protostar examined in the study is approximately 750 light-years away from the Earth in the Perseus constellation and the data was gathered in 2013 and 2014. Measuring the alignment of the radio waves emitted by material, such as dust, falling into the disk cloud orbiting the star, the scientists were able to uncover the magnetic field configuration of this area of the star.
"The alignment of magnetic fields in this region near young stars is very important to the development of the disks that orbit them. Depending on its alignment, the magnetic field can either hinder the growth of the disk or help funnel material onto the disk, allowing it to grow," Leslie Looney, who participated in the research, said in a press release.
As material from the dust and gas cloud that surrounds the protostar falls toward to rotating disk, scientists believe that it likely draws in magnetic field lines with it. Due to this process, the composition of the magnetic field located near the star will show numerous differences from the field's structure that is located further away.
"Our VLA observations are showing us this region, where the change in shape of the magnetic field is taking place," said Erin Cox, who also participated in the research.
NGC1333 IRAS 4A is one of two young stars that are developing within a similar envelope of dust and gas and Cox and Looney are a part of an international team of researchers exploring the envelope around NGC1333 IRAS 4A.
The scientists are reporting their results in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
