Speaker
Description
Energetic feedback from massive young stars can modify the same magnetic structures that regulate gravitational collapse, yet the observational connection between feedback-driven magnetic restructuring and star-formation efficiency (SFE) remains poorly constrained. We investigate 11 high-mass Galactic star-forming regions observed with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), combining plane-of-sky magnetic-field strength, magnetic morphology, normalized mass-to-flux ratio, magnetic criticality, SFE, and published evidence for feedback–magnetic-field interaction. Magnetic-field strengths span 138.83 – 3364.93 μG, while 10 of the 11 regions (90.9%) are magnetically supercritical, indicating that gravitational collapse can proceed despite moderate-to-strong fields. Magnetic-field strength shows only a weak, statistically insignificant relation with SFE (ρ=-0.191), (p=0.573), while the mass-to-flux ratio exhibits a stronger but non-significant association (ρ=-0.419), (p=0.199). Source-by-source polarization studies reveal direct observational evidence of feedback-driven magnetic-field restructuring in four regions and suggestive evidence in three additional sources, including field alignment with outflow cavities, shock-related distortion, and reorientation by ionized or explosive feedback. Regions with direct feedback–magnetic interaction have a median SFE of 0.00721, compared with 0.0375 for sources in which such interaction is not observationally established. Although the small sample precludes a causal interpretation, the result provides a direct observational link between feedback environment, magnetic-field response, and star-formation activity. The findings favour a coupled evolutionary framework in which gravitational collapse proceeds predominantly in supercritical magnetized gas, stellar feedback subsequently reshapes the magnetic environment, and the resulting star-formation efficiency reflects the combined action of gravity, magnetic regulation, and energetic feedback rather than magnetic-field strength alone.