Role of magnetic fields in the fragmentation of the Taurus B213 filament into Sun-type star-forming cores

Abstract

Fragmentation is a key step in the process of transforming clouds (and their substructures, such as filaments, clumps and cores) into protostars. The thermal gas pressure and gravitational collapse are believed to be the primary agents governing this process, referred as thermal Jeans fragmentation. However, the contributions of other factors (such as magnetic fields and turbulence) to the fragmentation process remain less explored. In this work, we have tested possible fragmentation mechanisms by estimating the mean core mass and mean inter-core separation of the B213 filament. We have used the ∼14∘ resolution James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) Submillimeter Common-User Bolometer Array 2 (SCUBA-2)/POL-2 850 μm dust continuum map and combined it with a Planck 850 μm map and Herschel data. We find that in addition to the thermal contribution, the presence of ordered magnetic fields could be important in the fragmentation of the B213 filament.