First SCUBA Polarimetry of Two Candidate High-Mass Protostellar Objects

Abstract

We present the first polarimetry towards two candidate highmass protostellar objects - W48W and S152SE. The polarimetry across both candidate HMPOs is ordered with a high degree of polarization (6-8%) compared to that of the nearby HII regions. Plane-of-the-sky magnetic field strengths of 0.7mG for W48W and 0.2mG for S152SE have been calculated using the Chandrasekhar-Fermi (CF) method, and mass-to-magnetic flux ratios indicate that both of these clouds are close to the critical value.