Modeling of magnetized star forming cores and gravitational lenses

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The dominant component of this research will model magnetic field geometries and bipolar outflows in star-forming molecular cloud cores and filaments. We will develop a new multi-objective method to model submillimetre polarization maps by building a parametrized model of a magnetized core, simulating the polarization map, and simultaneously fitting to maps of intensity, polarization angles, and polarization fraction. We will apply these models to polarization maps of cores and filaments from the JCMT archive (re-reduced by Matthews et al. 2009, ApJS, 182, 143), and extended to include a new type of non-parametric model, which will characterize magnetic fields in complicated and/or turbulent regions. In addition, we also plan to modify existing software to model CO emission to model bipolar outflows. By specifying a simple geometric model of bipolar outflows, we will be able to build the first global models of star-forming regions that constrain outflow geometries and their orientations with respect to the core's magnetic field. We will apply our method to new JCMT data from the Gould's Belt Survey as it becomes available. The anticipated outcome of this research will include: 1) The best available characterization of magnetic fields in well studied star-forming regions; 2) The first global models of fields and outflows, which will constrain the direction of outflows relative to core magnetic fields; 3) More complete understanding of mathematical degeneracy in polarization models; and 4) Improved understanding of the roles of turbulent vs. orderly magnetic fields in star-forming regions.