Polarization data toward the protostar Serpens SMM1

By complementing these observations with new polarization observations from the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and archival data from the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter- wave Astronomy (CARMA) and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescopes (JCMT), we can compare the magnetic field orientations at different spatial scales.

We find major changes in the magnetic field orientation between large (~0.1pc) scales-where the magnetic field is oriented E-W, perpendicular to the major axis of the dusty filament where SMM1 is embedded-and the intermediate and small scales probed by CARMA (~1000au resolution), the SMA (~350au resolution), and ALMA (~140au resolution). The ALMA maps reveal that the redshifted lobe of the bipolar outflow is shaping the magnetic field in SMM1 on the southeast side of the source; however, on the northwestern side and elsewhere in the source, low-velocity shocks may be causing the observed chaotic magnetic field pattern.