Interactive visualizations of filament flows, magnetic field orientations,
and Young Stellar Object proper motions in nearby star-forming regions.
About MAGI
MAGI (Magnetism And Gravitation Investigation) began as a deliberately broad research program driven by a simple question:
Can magnetic fields influence the motion of matter in ways that are not fully explained by our current understanding of gravity?
Over time, the project evolved into an observational investigation using nearby molecular clouds. Rather than attempting to replace gravity, MAGI became a framework for testing whether magnetic fields leave measurable signatures in the earliest stages of stellar dynamics.
Research Progression
- Original idea
- Could magnetic fields produce effects that resemble, modify, or complement gravitational behavior?
- Is there an unknown interaction that becomes apparent during star formation?
- Observational approach
- Use nearby molecular clouds as natural laboratories.
- Measure the orientation of the local magnetic field from Planck polarization.
- Compare this with the motions of Young Stellar Objects measured by Gaia.
- Current evolution
- Shift from total proper motions to residual proper motions after removing the cloud's bulk motion.
- Compare those residuals with:
- the magnetic field orientation, and
- the local filament geometry derived from Herschel.
- Long-term goal
- Determine whether magnetic fields merely shape the gas from which stars form, or whether they also influence the subsequent kinematics of the stars themselves.