The Mineralogy and Magnetism of Star and Planet Formation as Revealed by Mid-Infrared Spectropolarimetry

We present mid-infrared polarisation observations which elucidate the magnetic field and dust properties of the target objects, including sources lying behind large columns of the interstellar medium and Young Stellar Objects in molecular clouds. Comparisons between the observed magnetic field direction and disc, outflow and interstellar field axes reveal several correlations, whilst modelling of the 8-13 mum polarisation spectra using laboratory optical constants indicates that in all cases amorphous olivine is the dominant dust component.