MAGNETIC FIELD PROPERTIES IN HIGH-MASS STAR FORMATION FROM LARGE TO SMALL SCALES: A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS FROM POLARIZATION DATA

Polarization data from high-mass star formation regions (W51 e2/e8, Orion BN/KL) are used to derive statistical properties of the plane of sky projected magnetic field. Structure function and auto-correlation function are calculated for observations with various resolutions from the BIMA and SMA interferometers, covering a range in physical scales from similar to 70 mpc to similar to 2.1 mpc. Results for the magnetic field turbulent dispersion, its turbulent-to-mean field strength ratio, and the large-scale polarization angle correlation length are presented as a function of the physical scale at the star formation sites. Power-law scaling relations emerge for some of these physical quantities. The turbulent-to-mean field strength ratio is found to be close to constant over the sampled observing range, with a hint of a decrease toward smaller scales, indicating that the role of the magnetic field and turbulence is evolving with the physical scale. A statistical method is proposed to separate large-and small-scale correlations from an initial ensemble of polarization segments. This also leads to a definition of a turbulent polarization angle correlation length.