On mapping the magnetic field direction in molecular clouds by polarization measurements

Abstract

We predict that interstellar radio-frequency lines possess a few percent linear polarization, provided that (1) the radiative transition rate is at least comparable to the collision rate, (2) the optical depth is moderate. and anisotropic, and (3) the number of extrema of the velocity component along the line of sight through the source is small. If the Zeeman splitting exceeds both the collisional frequency and the radiative transition rate, then the polarization is aligned either perpendicular to or parallel to the projection of the magnetic field on the plane of the sky.

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