SCYON Abstract

Received on April 4 2008

Wide-Field Infrared Imaging Polarimetry of the NGC 6334 Region: A Nest of Infrared Reflection Nebulae

AuthorsJ. Hashimoto (1), M. Tamura (1), R. Kandori (1), N. Kusakabe (1), Y. Nakajima (1), M. Kurita (2), T. Nagata (3), T. Nagayama (3), J. Hough (4), and A. Chrysostomou (5)
Affiliation(1) National Astronomical Observatory, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588
(2) Department of Astrophysics, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602
(3) Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502
(4) Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield HERTS AL10 9AB, UK
(5) Joint Astronomy Centre, 660 N. A'ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720
Accepted byAstrophysical Journal
Contacthashmtjn@optik.mtk.nao.ac.jp
URLhttp://arxiv.org/pdf/0804.0664
Links NGC 6334

Abstract

We report the detection of eighteen infrared reflection nebulae (IRNe) in the J, H & Ks linear polarimetric observations of the NGC 6334 massive star-formation complex, of which 16 IRNe are new discoveries. Our images cover ~180 square arcminutes, one of the widest near-infrared polarization data in star-formation regions so far. These IRNe are most likely associated with embedded young OB stars at different evolutionary phases, showing a variety of sizes, morphologies, and polarization properties, which can be divided into four categories. We argue the different nebula characteristics to be a possible evolutionary sequence of circumstellar structures around young massive stars.