Abstract
Within ten nearby (d < 450 pc) Gould Belt molecular clouds we evaluate
statistically the relative orientation between the magnetic field projected on
the plane of sky, inferred from the polarized thermal emission of Galactic dust
observed by Planck at 353 GHz, and the gas column density structures,
quantified by the gradient of the column density, \$N\_H\$. The relative
orientation is evaluated pixel by pixel and analyzed in bins of column density
using the novel statistical tool Histogram of Relative Orientations. Within
most clouds we find that the relative orientation changes progressively with
increasing \$N\_H\$ from preferentially parallel or no preferred orientation to
preferentially perpendicular. In simulations of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
in molecular clouds this trend in relative orientation is a signature of
Alfvénic or sub-Alfvénic turbulence, implying that the magnetic field is
significant for the gas dynamics at the scales probed by Planck. We compare the
deduced magnetic field strength with estimates we obtain from other methods and
discuss the implications of the Planck observations for the general picture of
molecular cloud formation and evolution.
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