Studying Star Formation from the Stratosphere

Dr. Laura Fissel
National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Abstract

The conversion of gas into stars underlies much of modern astrophysics, from planet formation to the chemical evolution of our universe.  A key outstanding question in star formation research is whether magnetic fields significantly contribute to the low star formation efficiency we observe. In this talk, I will discuss what we have learned about the role played by magnetic fields in star formation, with a particular focus on results from the BLASTPol balloon-borne sub-mm polarimeter. BLASTPol operates 38.5 km above the Earth’s surface (above 99.5% of the atmosphere), resulting in much better sensitivity compared to ground-based polarimeters. By statistically comparing detailed BLASTPol-inferred magnetic field maps of a massive molecular gas cloud with simulations, we find that magnetic fields play an important role in the formation of both low- and high-density gas sub-structures.  Our next-generation balloon-borne polarimeter, BLAST-TNG, is scheduled for a first Antarctic flight in December 2019. With BLAST-TNG we will apply these same analysis techniques to a larger sample of clouds with 5x better resolution, and quantitatively determine the extent to which magnetic fields affect star formation efficiency. Finally, I will discuss prospects for building an even more powerful balloon-borne sub-mm observatory that can access most of the sky as part of NASA’s new Super-Pressure balloon program.