Magnetic fields (B-fields) play a key role in the formation and evolution of protoplanetary disks, but their properties are poorly understood due to the lack of observational constraints. Using CanariCam at the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias, we have mapped out the mid-infrared polarization of the protoplanetary disk around the Herbig Ae star AB Aur. We detect ∼0.44% polarization at 10.3 µm from AB Aur's inner disk (r < 80 AU), rising to ∼1.4% at larger radii. Our simulations imply that the mid-infrared polarization of the inner disk arises from dichroic emission of elongated particles aligned in a disk B-field. The field is well ordered on a spatial scale commensurate with our resolution (∼50 AU), and we infer a poloidal shape tilted from the rotational axis of the disk. The disk of AB Aur is optically thick at 10.3 µm, so polarimetry at this wavelength is probing the B-field near the disk surface. Our observations therefore confirm that this layer, favored by some theoretical studies for developing magneto-rotational instability and its resultant viscosity, is indeed very likely to be magnetized. At radii beyond ∼80 AU, the mid-infrared polarization results primarily from scattering by dust grains with sizes up to ∼1 µm, a size indicating both grain growth and, probably, turbulent lofting of the particles from the disk mid-plane.

We observed the edge-on, planet-bearing disk of β Pictoris using T-ReCS at Gemini to clarify and extend previous observations and conclusions about this unique system. Our spectroscopy and spectral modeling of the 10-µm silicate feature constrain the spatial distributions of three representative dust components (0.1-µm/2.0-µm glassy olivine and crystalline forsterite) across the inner 20-AU of the disk. We confirm that the 2.0-µm glassy olivine is strongly peaked in the disk center and that the 0.1-µm glassy olivine does not show this concentration, but rather is double peaked, with the peaks on either side of the star. However, we do not see the strong difference in brightness between those two peaks reported in a previous study. Although the spatial distribution of the 0.1-µm dust is consistent with the scenario of a dust-replenishing planetesimal belt embedded in the disk, we note an alternative interpretation that can explain the spatial distributions of the 0.1-µm and 2.0-µm grains simultaneously and does not require the planetesimal belt. In addition to the spectroscopy, we also obtained a new 11.7 µm image of the β Pic disk. By comparing this image with that acquired in 2003, we confirm the existence and overall shape of the dusty clump at 52 AU in the SW disk. We speculate that the clump's projected spatial displacement of ∼2.0 AU, a 3.6-σ result, between two epochs separated by seven years is due to the Keplerian motion of the clump at an orbital radius of 54.3 +2.0 −1.2 AU. Subject headings: circumstellar matter -planetary systems -stars: individual(β Pictoris)

We measured mid-infrared polarization of protoplanetary discs to gain new insight into their magnetic fields. Using CanariCam at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias, we detected linear polarization at 8.7, 10.3, and 12.5 µm from discs around eight Herbig Ae/Be stars and one T-Tauri star. We analyzed polarimetric properties of each object to find out the most likely interpretation of the data. While the observed midinfrared polarization from most objects is consistent with polarized emission and/or absorption arising from aligned dust particles, we cannot rule out polarization due to dust scattering for a few objects in our sample. For those objects for which polarization can be explained by polarized emission and/or absorption, we examined how the derived magnetic field structure correlates with the disc position angle and inclination. We found no preference for a certain type of magnetic field. Instead, various configurations (toroidal, poloidal, or complex) are inferred from the observations. The detection rate (64 per cent) of polarized mid-infrared emission and/or absorption supports the expectation that magnetic fields and suitable conditions for grain alignment are common in protoplanetary discs around Herbig Ae/Be stars.

We report new imaging polarimetry observations of the Galactic compact HII region K3-50 using CanariCam at the Gran Telescopio Canarias. We use a standard polarimetric analysis technique, first outlined by Aitken, to decompose the observed polarisation images centred at 8.7, 10.3, and 12.5 µm into the emissive and absorptive components from silicate grains that are aligned with the local magnetic field. These components reveal the spatially-resolved magnetic field structures across the mid-infrared emission area of K3-50. We examine these structures and show that they are consistent with previously observed features and physical models of K3-50, such as the molecular torus and the ionised outflow. We propose a 3D geometry for all the structures seen at different wavelengths. We also compute relevant physical quantities in order to estimate the associated magnetic field strengths that would be implied under various physical assumptions. We compare these results with MHD simulations of protostar formation that predict the magnetic field strength and configuration. We find that the magnetic field may be dynamically important in the innermost 0.2 pc of the molecular torus, but that the torus is more likely to be rotationally-supported against gravity outside this radius. Similarly, magnetic fields are unlikely to dominate the global physics of the ionised outflow, but they may be important in helping confine the flow near the cavity wall in some locations. Ours is the first application of the Aitken technique to spatially-resolved magnetic field structures in multiple layers along the line of sight, effectively a method of "polarisation tomography."

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