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C. L. Brogan, T. H. Troland (University of Kentucky), D. A. Roberts, R. M. Crutcher (University of Illinois)
We report the results of high-resolution VLA H\,{\sc i} and OH Zeeman observations toward the star forming region M17. Although the H\,{\sc i} and OH absorption lines toward this region have a complex velocity structure, we have been able to identify lines at ~20 km~s-1 and 17 km~s-1 which are directly associated with the region and show strong magnetic fields on the order of 100 to 700 \muG. We find excellent agreement between the magnetic fields measured in the H\,{\sc i} gas and the OH gas toward M17. The H\,{\sc i} and OH velocity component at 20 km~s-1 is associated with the molecular cloud located to the southwest of the continuum source and has a magnetic field that increases steeply toward the interface. The H\,{\sc i} and OH gas at ~17 km~s-1 seems to be composed of shocked, clumpy gas and is associated with the northern condensation. We also show the correspondence between H\,{\sc i} and OH column densities and the derived magnetic field values for this source. In addition, we find that the magnetic fields in M17 are strong enough to play a considerable role in the energetics of the M17 SW molecular cloud.
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